Dom Dwyer isn't above trying to mess with reporters over rumors of a summer move to Greek side Olympiacos, as the striker did earlier this week after a training session with Sporting Kansas City.
While midfielder Benny Feilhaber was in the middle of an interview, Dwyer walked past with a determined look on his face and clapped Feilhaber on the shoulder.
"Good luck, bro," Dwyer said. "I'm off to Greece."
But in an interview with ESPN Radio's "Over the Ball," Dwyer -- who also discussed his ongoing naturalization process and hopes of playing for the US national team -- said the time is not right for a move overseas.
"I had conversations with the club," Dwyer told host Kevin Flynn. "It's a fantastic team, and one I definitely would be honored to play for, but it wasn't the right time for me to go yet. In the near future, who knows? I'm not really sure about my future, but I love it in Kansas City, and I'm really enjoying myself.
"The enticement of trying to play [UEFA] Champions League football, obviously, is enticing for any footballer -- but like I said, I'm just enjoying myself now and trying to focus on this season and work hard. But yeah, obviously, confidence is high, and it's obviously nice to have people wanting you and be interested. It's definitely a positive."
The English-born Dwyer has certainly done a lot to attract attention from abroad, with 46 goals for Kansas City in four-plus seasons. He currently leads the club with 10 goals in 2016 and is only the second player in Sporting KC history with double-digit scoring totals in three consecutive seasons.
But while he has made no secret of wanting to play in a top-flight European league some day, Dwyer also said that MLS continues to grow in quality.
"I love this league," he said. "It's a fun one to play in. It's growing. You see players from all over the place coming in. The talent coming into the league is getting better and better every week, every year. It's just a good place to play. It's hard to get away from this.
"Obviously, I have bigger dreams and aspirations. I've always wanted to play in the Premier League. But MLS is not a league that's going downwards. It's definitely going upwards."
Dwyer also has personal reasons for remaining stateside. His wife, US women's national team international Sydney Leroux, is expecting their first child, a son. And Dwyer, who came to the United States in 2009 to play college ball before being taken in the first round of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, is in the process of obtaining US citizenship and the national team eligibility that comes with it.
"My citizenship is being worked on as we speak, so it could be a matter of months," Dwyer said. "It could happen this year, before the end of the year. It's really just kind of a waiting game to see what happens, but once it does, I hope I'm in good form and playing well and improving as a player and can maybe start to make waves. We'll see."
Dwyer has not been in contact with US coach Jurgen Klinsmann recently, but said Sporting manager Peter Vermes has kept Klinsmann abreast of the proceedings.
What about that talk that Vermes could some day be in line for the national team job, though? Dwyer wouldn't object, even though he acknowledged the occasional clash with his manager.
"Peter's a very intense guy," Dwyer said. "He's very passionate about what he does. He cares about the team a lot. He's quite a motivator. We butt heads quite a lot, in the five years that I've been here, but that's made a healthy relationship. We both want to win. That's the big common goal that we both see. If he's in for the national team job in the future, I think it might not be a bad thing for me."
