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Orlando City in talks to deal Justin Meram back to Columbus Crew - sources

Orlando City is in talks to trade winger Justin Meram back to Columbus Crew SC, sources confirmed to ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle.

MLSSoccer.com first reported news of the trade talks on Sunday, adding that Orlando are also open to potential offers from other clubs.

Meram, 29, spent seven years with Columbus but asked for a trade last season after talks over a new contract stalled, and he ultimately left the club in January a deal for over $1 million for allocation money.

But Meram has scored just once in 17 games this season after recording 13 goals in his last season in Columbus. He hasn't started since June 23 -- a week after Orlando fired coach Jason Kreis -- and was left out of the squad entirely the past two weekends.

Last month, Meram told Pro Soccer USA that "this has probably been the hardest four months, maybe, of my life, my career" after extensive fan criticism.

In April, Meram told ESPN that "certain markets" are "holding back MLS," possibly alluding to Columbus, whose team is pursuing a move to Austin, Texas.