Report: Contract talks between Columbus Crew SC and Ola Kamara breakdown

Ola Kamara has been one of the best forwards in Major League Soccer since he arrived to Columbus Crew SC in 2016.

The striker began his career in Columbus as a backup to Kei Kamara, but scored a hat trick in just his sixth appearance for the Black & Gold, two matches after Kei was traded to the New England Revolution following a pubic dispute with teammate Federico Higuain.

Since those first three goals, Kamara has hardly stopped scoring. He scored 16 goals in 25 games in his debut season and has 12 goals through 25 matches this year, tying him with Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco for third over that stretch.

Due to his success, it appears Kamara is looking for a new contract, but, according to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle, those contract negotiations have stalled.

Carlisle reports that there were multiple offers made by foreign clubs for Kamara, who is in his second of a four-year deal, during the summer transfer window and “that Kamara will explore moves away from MLS after the conclusion of the current season.”

"Ola is an important part of the team,” head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter told Carlisle, “we're happy with his performance, and we hope to keep him here for a long time."

Kamara’s 2017 salary is $482,500 per information released by the MLS Players Union earlier this season, but, like Kei before him, the forward wants to be rewarded for his form after signing from Austria Wien in 2016.

The Crew SC forward has had to adjust his game in recent weeks as Berhalter elected to change from his more traditional 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-2-1 that sees less crosses and more focus on defense.

Kamara has three goals in six matches since that change was made regular, but the 27 year old told Massive Report that the altered playing style required him to make changes to the way he’s played throughout his career.

The forward was not present as the team toured the Acura NSX plant and trained in Marysville on Tuesday and Berhalter said he missed the trip due to personal reasons. He was back in training on Wednesday.