Brian Ching says he is yet to sign a new deal with Houston Dynamo but admits that an agreement is close.
The 34-year old striker comes out of contract this week and needs to pen a new deal in order to be eligible to take on DC United on Saturday night in the MLS 2013 season opener.
"We're close, but we're not done yet," Ching said. "I'm always optimistic."
Dynamo president Chris Canetti added: "I don't see any reason to believe that's not going to get done."
The Dynamo's all-time leading scorer was taken by Montreal Impact in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft but returned to Houston on a reduced to wage for the 2012 campaign.
