A curious rumour re-emerged late tweet last night on Twitter. In a teasing tweet directed to the Whitecaps official Twitter account, it was suggested that “a mouse from Panama is getting closer to your roster”.
Who is the mouse you ask? A quick search confirmed that FC Dallas’s Blas Perez was originally nicknamed Raton (mouse) but has since morphed into Super Raton (Mighty Mouse).
Now this is not the first time that the Whitecaps have been associated with possibly acquiring Perez thereby possibly legitimizing the suggestion in the tweet with the rumour now seeming to be picking up steam.
So how possible is it for Blas Perez the 34 year old Panamanian target man to be joining the Whitecaps? Well first of all Blas Perez just recently announced that he and FC Dallas were parting ways, not because he personally wanted to but because of a disagreement with management (likely over the terms of his contract). As long time Whitecaps followers will know, Robbo has made no secret of the fact that he admires Perez as a player and what he brings to the pitch. Perez is exactly what the Whitecaps are missing, a big target man with extensive MLS experience that could be brought in off the bench to completely change the complexion of the game. Given the late stage of his career, Perez I’m certain that Perez would not be offended by having super substitute role on the team (similar to that of Robert Earnshaw) as he did so effectively with Dallas. Given the prudent way financially that the Whitecaps have been progressing with their free transfers, it would seem to me that the Whitecaps could certainly afford Perez’s ticket suggested to be in the $375,000 range. Plus, and a big plus for the Whitecaps if the rumour is true, Perez has a green card (which he acquired in 2013). As such, he would not be taking up an international spot on the roster which the Whitecaps currently have in very short supply.
While some Whitecaps fans would likely be upset by a hated rival coming to play for the Whitecaps, I personally would absolutely love to see Perez getting on the end of a Bolanos cross…Please make it so. There are other rumoured destinations out there too such as Saprissa and Atlético Nacional so don’t think that the Whitecaps are the only team persuing Perez. Like any other rumour, take this one with a grain of salt. That said, this is one rumour that I can totally get behind.
Edit: On February 16, 2016, it was officially announced by the Vancouver Whitecaps that it is a “done deal” with Mauro Rosales being traded to Dallas in exchange for Blas Perez. Couldn’t be happier about this. So the answer to the question posed is “Yes”.
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