BC’s Davies moving in right direction

The agreement wasn’t as much of a surprise as the timing. For the past year and a half, Sochaux has expressed interest in Davies, who played three seasons with Hammarby after leaving Boston College following his junior season.

News of the transfer began to surface as Davies rested in a hotel room outside Boston, hours before he would join the US team for training at Gillette Stadium. The last time Davies was in New England, he was a young forward with BC weighing a move to Europe against a career in Major League Soccer.

Now 23, Davies is in the midst of a surreal month. Just two weeks ago, he picked up an assist on Landon Donovan’s first-half goal in a 3-2 loss to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final, a heartbreaking result for the US. In the CONCACAF Gold Cup opener July 4, Davies scored in a 4-0 win against Grenada. And now he is back in New England to play in front of family and friends in tonight’s CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Haiti at Gillette.

“It’s gone from extreme to extreme for me,’’ Davies said. “I’ve been really excited the past month and a half, and it only keeps getting better for me. I must be doing something right, so I got to keep doing that.’’

While growing up in Manchester, N.H., Davies said he always kept an eye on the New England Revolution. Meanwhile, everyone else was watching him. All-America and national honors draped him his senior year at Brooks School. He set numerous records in the Independent School League, including career goals (101) and season goals (30). Davies even captured ISL and New England wrestling titles in his weight class three times.

There was no doubt he possessed athletic talent and was filled with soccer knowledge from the teachings of his father, Kofi, at an early age. What he wondered was if he would be as successful at the pro level.

Once Davies joined BC’s program, he soon got his answer. After a season-ending injury early in his sophomore year, Davies rehabbed and participated in a spring match against the Revolution in 2006.

BC won, 3-1, and Davies scored twice, including a goal on a memorable bicycle kick.

“To see him in that moment, I think that was his stamping that put him on the map,’’ said Revolution defender Jay Heaps, who also is on the US team. “You could see that this guy could definitely play at this level. The bicycle kick he scored is something you never see . . . It was a good moment for him. I felt kind of a little bit of pride because he came from BC and is a local kid and stepping up.’’

Davies initially wanted to turn pro after his sophomore year but because of the injury, came back for one more season. Once he wrapped up his junior year, the offers were myriad. MLS teams were interested and pegged him as one of the top players coming out. Yet, Davies also was curious about a career overseas.

If he stayed in the US, he wanted to play for the Revolution, but when it came down to making a decision, he opted to join Hammarby.

“I met with [MLS] and they expressed that they really wanted me, and I could be a big player of the future for the league, and I told them that I wanted to play in the MLS, but I also wanted to test myself. They understood that as a young player, you want to go for the best and take the big jump,’’ Davies said.

BC coach Ed Kelly said MLS is a “very good league’’ but he encouraged Davies to play in Europe because it would help him mature as a player.

“That’s what he wanted to do, and I thought he could make something of himself if he went abroad. It wasn’t easy for him that first year and that kind of adjustment pays dividends,’’ Kelly said.

Davies scored four goals that first season in 2007, with three coming in one game at the end of the season. Davies said he had to learn the language and also adjust to “pressure and expectations.’’

“When I first signed, I was very happy, but I questioned myself later,’’ Davies said. “One of my closest friends, Maurice Edu, got [MLS] rookie of the year and a couple of thoughts went through my head: Should I have gone to the MLS to have some success early on? But in the long run it was definitely the right decision.’’

Davies scored 14 goals in 27 league games the next season and the momentum began to build. He has scored four goals in nine league games this season. Now that he has been sold to Sochaux, pending a physical, Davies is even more excited about playing at the League 1 level. From his time in New Hampshire to BC to Hammarby, Davies said each step along the way has had a purpose.

“Not only do I want to become the best player I can be and become a big-time European player, but my ultimate goal is to be part of the national team,’’ Davies said. “For me to do that, I feel like I can go to Europe and develop much faster. It definitely has shown in the progress I’ve made the last two years . . . I’ve really matured and become a professional. That’s why I’m grateful I went through the whole process.’’

CONCACAF Gold Cup
Who: Haiti vs. US (6:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel), Honduras vs. Grenada (9 p.m.)
Where: Gillette Stadium

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.