Liam Ridgewell has come a long way to find himself: more than 4,000 miles across an ocean and a continent, across mountains and desert, to a city of roses and a boat on the lake. He is far from the Midlands, his long-time place of work, far from London and from home, but although there is a nagging ache for relatives and friends, he is at home too; an Englishman abroad, energised and rebooted.

The story of how Ridgewell joined Portland Timbers is one he grapples with, because the urge that propelled him at the end of last season was the opposite of wanderlust.

There was a creeping disillusionment at West Bromwich Albion, a numbness with football and a desire to be closer to Luca