Friday Five: Tim Ream joins list of high-profile European moves for U.S. internationals

Add New York defender Tim Ream to the growing list of MLS stars to ply their trade in the English Premier League.

Ream officially sealed his reported $3.75 million move to Bolton Wanderers on Thursday after the Home Office approved his work permit on appeal earlier this week.

The current U.S. international (and potential replacement for new Chelsea signing Gary Cahill) joins a distinguished list of MLS stars to make the jump to the English top flight. In the wake of Ream's high-profile transfer, the Friday Five offers up a list of other important moves by MLS-based players to top European leagues.

1. 2003: Tim Howard to Manchester United ($3.3 million): Not even Hollywood could have come up with this tale of a local Jersey boy starring for his home team and then transferring to the biggest club in the world as a relative unknown. The high-profile move and the step into first-team Premier League football proved just a bit too onerous for the still-developing 24-year-old. Howard struggled for consistency during his time at United, but his subsequent move to Everton ultimately revealed his true quality. At this juncture of his career, he wouldn't look out of place if a top-four side handed him another chance at Champions League football.

2. 2008: Jozy Altidore to Villarreal ($10 million): The fee, not the club, offers the most significant point in this particular transfer. Clubs gamble in the transfer market all of the time. Before Altidore made his ill-fated move to Spain, they certainly didn't do it this expensively in the United States. It is also rather fair to note that they haven't done so again after Altidore made little impact on the first team and suffered through three loan switches during his spell with the Yellow Submarine.

One other point worth noting: Altidore's fee caused a fairly dramatic knock-on effect in how MLS valued its talent for export. Landing such a lucrative fee for Altidore bolstered the league's ambitious pricing approach in the transfer market and ensured that other players under league control would either have to earn a big-money move or wait until their contract ran down in order to take the European plunge.

3. 2004: Brian McBride to Fulham ($1.5 million): Two loan spells under David Moyes – a blood clot-marred stint at Preston North End during the 2000-2001 campaign and a far more productive temporary switch at Everton two winters later – and a series of solid performances at the 2002 World Cup paved the way for this permanent move. Four-and-a-half years and a pub later, the ex-Columbus man (and the next player on the list) had shown well enough to prove that the American top flight possessed field players capable of making the jump to the Premier League level.

4. 2004: Carlos Bocanegra to Fulham (free): McBride may have had his name plastered on a watering hole, but the former Chicago defender also played a massive role in turning the West London side into 'Fulhamerica.' His consistent performances at Craven Cottage kept him in the side and expanded the influence of American internationals in the Premier League. As an added bonus to the league's standing, his smooth transition may have provided some inspiration for Ryan Nelsen's similar free transfer move to Blackburn Rovers one year later.

5. 2007: Clint Dempsey to Fulham ($4 million): Dempsey's deal stands out for two reasons: (1) it depicts the inroads made by Bocanegra and McBride at Fulham; and (2) it shows the importance of making the right move – a mooted transfer to Charlton Athletic never went through after MLS declined an underwhelming $1.5 million bid in 2006 to hold out for this then-record sum. Suffice it to say that Dempsey could find a new club at a significantly higher level than League One if he chooses to conclude his time with the Cottagers at the end of the season.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSsoccer.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.