By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor

REAL MOVES: Whether or not Kasey Keller joins MLS û- and he tried to come to MLS last summer on a loan û- Real Salt Lake has already lined up one goalkeeper.

D.J. Countess backed up Henry Ring for most of the season in Chicago prior to the arrival of Zach Thornton, who is one of the players who could be changing clubs if a multi-team trade is worked out. Countess, who played for Salt Lake coach John Ellinger as a U-17, will be wearing Real blue and red next season according to a source.

Several sources confirmed Ellinger is indeed keen on acquiring Clint Mathis from German club Hannover. He is working under a contract that doesnÆt expire soon, but the club paid next to nothing for him and by grabbing his crotch to express his displeasure at the tactical acumen û or lack of same û of Coach Ewald Lienen he may have bought himself a cheap trip back home.

He hasnÆt played since a 1-0 loss to Bielefeld two months ago, and Hannover has won six of seven without him.

In hiring Ellinger as head coach and Steve Pastorino as general manager, operator-investor Dave Checketts has followed a modus operandi heÆs used in the past while managing the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

ôIÆve always liked guys with something to prove,ö said Checketts, ôand they come in various packages. But usually the best package is someone who has worked with someone who is really capable, so heÆs been trained, and now he aspires to be the head guy.

ôSo the fact that [Pastorino] was the assistant GM of a successful startup in Chicago, and he has this burning desire to: a) move to Salt Lake, because he loves the community; and b) be the GM of the team, is perfect.ö

Ellinger is making the jump from the under-17s to the pro ranks. What does Pastorino have to prove and why would he leave an AEG team?

A year ago, when rumbles of change in San Jose began reverberating through the AEG hierarchy, Pastorino asked for a chance to revive the franchise. Instead, AEG forced out Johnny Moore and hired Alexi Lalas as president and GM.

HOW CLOSE KASEY? MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said a loan deal for Kasey Keller last summer never moved along very far along because a loan of Keller to a club outside England would be the same as an international transfer under the FIFA player-movement rules, and Tottenham would not be able to recall him within 48 hours, which is permissible with domestic loans.

Keller is on a one-month loan from Spurs to Southampton. Regular starter Antii Niemi, a Finnish international, should recover from a minor injury in December, and thus Keller could be available for a move during the January transfer window. However, his contract demands so far have been far in excess of what MLS is willing to pay.

Had he gone on loan to MLS last summer, a move back to England — say, if Spurs starter Paul Robinson suffered a long-term injury and the club recalled Keller — would have constituted a second move and he could have run afoul of the FIFA rules that permit a player to move only twice within a season. Yet FIFA rules are not clear regarding players moving between leagues of different seasons — i.e. the Premier League and MLS — and Keller isnÆt the only player whose situation may need to be sorted out.