Alejandro Bedoya Joins Fellow American Maurice Edu at Rangers

Just a month after impressing American coach Bob Bradley at the Gold Cup by earning spots in the starting lineup for of the knockout round matches, Alejandro Bedoya has impressed Ally McCoist and the brass at Glasgow Rangers enough to earn a three-year contract that both sides agreed upon.

Bedoya has spent the past three years with Orebro in Sweden and spent January on trial at Birmingham City, while they were still in the Premier League, but failed to earn a contract with the English side.

The 24-year-old midfielder plans on joining fellow American midfielder Maurice Edu at Ibrox in January, as Bedoya will play out the remainder of the Allsvenskan season in Sweden since it runs until fall.

After the end of the Swedish season, Bedoya should get some well needed rest and will hope to secure a work permit in Scotland so that he can join the Rangers squad in January.

The move to Ibrox will benefit Bedoya's chances of being a consistent figure in the American national team roster in a similar situation to that of Edu's after he made the move to Scotland from Toronto FC in 2008.

Not only will the signing benefit Bedoya but it will benefit the American national team as a whole because the Scottish Premier League is a step up in competition from the Allsvenskan and Bedoya may have the chance to play in a European competition with Rangers as well.

Also, if Edu and Bedoya see time in the first team together at Ibrox, it could give the American midfield a sense of chemistry between the teammates as Bedoya will be a starter on the national team before the next World Cup.

All in all, Bedoya's signing with Rangers, assuming the work permit situation is figured out, is the second signing in the past week that will benefit the American national team after Jozy Altidore secured a move to AZ Alkmaar where he will see consistent first team time.

This signing of Bedoya also shows the progression of American soccer, and if he plays a big role in a major tournament, he will be recognized by bigger clubs in Europe.