"We first started tracking [Danny] about three years ago in January of 2007," general manager General Manager Dave Kasper told au.fourfourtwo.com.

"The things that attracted us to Danny were obviously his strike rate - near 50 percent, which is excellent."

Allsopp is one of many new signings for DC United this offseason, a club that is trying to qualify for the playoffs after a two-year hiatus. United have won Major League Soccer's finals series four previous times, but not since 2004.

Kasper and the club hope the 31-year-old forward can help United end the drought, specifically highlighting Allsopp's past performances in important matches.

"He's a guy that as we watched him throughout the years, has played big in big games," Kasper said. "He makes players around him better, coming from a great club in Melbourne that plays good football, and they're the biggest club in Australia.

"We believe that all those attributes will lead to success at MLS with Danny, and with him we've got a great team guy."

Allsopp is excited at the prospect of plying his trade in America, and was flattered that a club took an interest in him for so long.

"One of the main things was I knew that Dave and the club had been sort of following me for quite some time," he said.

"That means a lot when someone's taking the time to know what sort of player they're going to get. That was important for me when I was thinking of coming here."

Along with those challenges, he'll have to adjust to a new life in a new country, playing under United's new manager Curt Onalfo who is getting a feel for his squad. He's liked what he's seen so far from Allsopp.

"He's one of these forwards that can be a target forward who holds up the ball well, get on the end of crosses, but he also has the savvy to make extremely intelligent runs," Onalfo said.

Joining a new club is a challenging prospect, particularly one that is undergoing a coaching change at the same time. After a few weeks, Allsopp understands what it will take to be successful in the States, and how to incorporate himself into his new club.

"The first thing I noticed was how competitive it is there's a lot guys who are really desperate to make an impression, especially earlier in the season," he said.

"I'm going to have to give it 100 per cent and be 100 per cent committed and work really hard to be successful here.

"I've still got a lot of learning to do and it's going to take a little bite of time to adapt into the new team. I'm trying to make sure I adapt my game into the style of the team and do my best and help the team be successful."

DC United and Allsopp's season begins on March 27.