AEG and Herbalife strengthen LA Galaxy - Hammarby bond

AEG, Herbalife, the LA Galaxy, and Hammarby have strengthened their bond today, with Herbalife signing on as Hammarby's shirt sponsor as part of a global strategy partnership. Inside the press release they spoke on how this announcement affects the LA Galaxy:

The agreement also includes commitments for Hammarby to train at the StubHub Center in the USA - home of the LA Galaxy - during the term, as well as for both teams to play one friendly game at the stadium. Additionally, as part of this new relationship, a program to share players between the teams has been established - as has recently been reported within international media, the LA Galaxy has sent three of its young players to Sweden for a training stint with Hammarby, acknowledging that it was possible the players could join the Swedish team on a loan or transfer deal.

Gregg Berhalter's side ends the 2013 Superettan on November 2nd (season starts in April) so any training and friendly matchup is likely going to happen in the upcoming offseason.

More significant is the update on the training session. The release acknowledges the three young players currently training in Hammarby, and implies that all three could join the Swedish side on loan or even a transfer deal. The word transfer hadn't really been thrown around until now.

With Laurent Courtois making the roster complete at thirty players, the Galaxy need to clear some roster space if they want to make any further transfers during the window. With CONCACAF Champions League on the horizon, bringing in some regional internationals while allowing young players to get real experience could be beneficial for all parties concerned.

Sharing players would work both ways, so this could also mean getting the rights to Baggio Husidic could pay off this transfer window as well. We'll see how this all plays out with the window closing August 8th and CONCACAF Champions League beginning about the same time.