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Birthday boy Jordan Stewart believes the influx of world stars in Major League Soccer is a ‘double-edged sword’ and doesn’t want the increasingly popular league to emulate the Premier League by failing to provide a platform for home-grown youngsters to develop.

The Birmingham-born defender, who celebrates his 34th birthday today, recently put pen-to-paper on a new deal with San Jose Earthquakes to take him into a fourth season in the United States.

Chelsea and England great Ashley Cole followed suit, joining Steven Gerrard at LA Galaxy, to add to the growing number of footballing greats already winding down their careers in MLS.

While Stewart acknowledges that icons such as Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa will undoubtedly help the league reach new heights, he is concerned that they are blocking the emergence of home-grown talent and is wary of the dangers having witnessed it first-hand in England.

He explained: “When David Beckham came that’s how I first acknowledged MLS. I think the more players you get from England and elsewhere helps increase the profile.

“But it’s a double-edged sword, you want it but you want to keep the foundation and the opportunities for younger players,” said Stewart, who made his Premier League debut for Leicester in 2000, just shy of his 18th birthday.

“I think it’s (MLS) accelerating quickly to where it wants to be. There’s more awareness and clubs are acquiring better players from around the world.

“It would be hard for me to try and get into the Premier League as a 17-year-old now – there’s not many home-grown players making it. I hope MLS does not get to that stage.”

Stewart’s close friend and co-founder of Lescott-Stewart clothing brand, Aston Villa’s Joleon Lescott, was repeatedly linked with a move to LA Galaxy during the January transfer window.

But Stewart admits that life across the pond will not be for everyone, even if he and 21 other British-born players are relishing it right now.

“It depends on the circumstances of each person. I wanted to come out here because I wanted to live here. I wanted a change from playing in England, the lifestyle. That’s California though and not everywhere is going to be sunshine.

“Sometimes people perceive it as great but if you come and go somewhere that’s not metropolitan and the weather’s not great, it can be hard. It depends from person to person.

“I think the major difference is how much more tabloids are involved in England compared to here, especially when they’ve got basketball, NFL, baseball and bigger sports.

“Soccer’s a newer sport so you don’t really see it in the papers as much. You can leave it behind after training and games, whereas back home it’s constantly there.”

In addition to the lack of media scrutiny, Stewart suggests fans in America are more relaxed and respectful of players’ private lives, particularly on social media. He added: “It’s totally different. You don’t get the verbal abuse and after games nobody is trying to get at you on Twitter.

“They enjoy watching the sport but they know after the game you have your own life with family and friends, whereas in England their team is part of their life.

“When you have rivalries like Blues and Villa you can almost see one stadium from the other but here everything is so far apart. Our closest rivals, LA Galaxy, are an hour away on the plane, so it’s different.”

Stewart grew up in Harborne, attending Northfield’s Shenley Court School, and when quizzed about the thing he misses most, he cited ‘family and friends’ as well as the city’s renowned Caribbean cuisine.

He said: “As you know, there’s a lot of Jamaican food in Birmingham and my dad’s Jamaican. You just don’t get that here.

“All my family are still around Birmingham. I didn’t go back this off-season, my mum and dad came over here. I went the year before and saw Joleon (Lescott) in Manchester. It was too cold though, so I didn’t go back this time!”

The former Leicester City, Derby County and Coventry City man missed the end of last season with an Achilles injury as the Quakes narrowly missed out on the Western Conference play-offs.

And Stewart is confident they can go one better this year when they get their campaign underway against Colorado Rapids on Sunday.

“It’s frustrating that we’ve not been in the play-offs since I’ve been here,” he admitted. ”I think number one is to get in and number two is to win it.

“I think we have strengthened, there’s more depth and obviously we had a new coach (Dominic Kinnear) come in and provide new ideas which helped us over the course of last season.

“I’d say we have a great chance but every other player at every other club will be saying the same things as I am.”

Finishing his playing days in the USA is something that Stewart had been planning for some time, but he has categorically ruled out moving into coaching.

“I’ll end my career here. I chose that when I was younger. That was from coming here for the summers from the age of 21. It appealed as somewhere to live post-soccer,” added Stewart, who despite his allegiances to Birmingham was a Liverpool fan as a youngster, mainly due to his admiration for John Barnes.

“I’m probably 85% sure that when I retire, I’m not going to be involved (in football) – I definitely will not be coaching. It doesn’t appeal to me.

“I’ve never done my badges. I’ve had loads of people saying that you should do them just in case. I understand that, but for me I have no intention of doing it so it would just be wasted time. I have other projects outside I will concentrate on.”