Is Blas Perez the final piece in the Vancouver Whitecaps Attacking Puzzle?

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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Centre Back Neil Yadolahi Apparently Offered a Stint with the Vancouver Whitecaps

Harjeet Johal of Red Nation Online broke the story this morning that Iranian-Irish defender Neil Yadolahi has been offered a stint with the Vancouver Whitecaps, likely on a free transfer.  See his bio here.  Yadolahi’s last team was Droghda United in Ireland.  A 22 year old centre-back primarily he has also played both fullback positions in the past primarily during national team duties.  One wonders if this is a potential depth addition and that someone else may be moving on accordingly.  Johal mentioned that there are some lingering injury concerns so stay tuned as this does not appear to be a done deal quite yet (pending a physical).  Would this require another international roster spot (which we have very few left of) and is this a first team signing?  Not sure at this point.  An intriguing move if true.  What exactly are the Whitecaps up to?  Is another centre back moving on?  Are they looking to convert him from his primary centre back position to a right back?  Is this the promised right back we have been waiting for?  More to come on this one…

Look for the Pythonesque red arrow in this highlight reel supplied by his management team, Pangea Sports, as part of his player CV.

Is Vancouver Whitecaps Gershon Koffie moving closer to being sold on to Europe?

It has long been rumoured that Vancouver Whitecaps Midfielder Gershon Koffie was going to be sold on by the Whitecaps early in 2016 (see below).  The destination as noted was originally rumoured to be France.

Earlier today, a website from Koffie’s native Ghana came to light (hat tip to Glass City on Twitter for originally spotting the Football Made in Ghana post) that indicated that Koffie was now being pursued by not one but two Belgian First Division clubs (Lokeren and Westerlo) and that he would be sold for “not less that $2 million”.

Let me say first of all that I am a big fan of Koffie and I really hope that he is not moving on. That said, I think that there have been long lingering questions about Koffie’s consistency.  As such, I really, really have to question the $2 million figure being bandied about.  First of all (and I assume that that is U.S. dollars we are talking about) while Koffie is a great young talent, as a player that hasn’t even been a consistent starter in the MLS, a $2 million dollar fee seems exorbitant to me.  That transfer fee would I believe be much more than the transfer fee for any of other current Whitecap player.  If two clubs are willing to pay that kind of money for Koffie, then I suppose they can go ahead and knock themselves out.  However, I can’t help but wonder that this might be a bit of an exaggeration, potentially an overstatement of the worth of a Ghanaian soccer player on a Ghanian soccer website?  Dunno.

It is my understanding that if any potential deal occurs that any transfer fee received by the Whitecaps would be split with the MLS (damn that single entity thing again) with the league getting a third of transfer fee and Whitecaps receiving up to a maximum of $650,000 of the transfer fee in the form of General Allocation Money (GAM) with the remainder of the money going towards team infrastructure (non-salary items such as training facilities, team equipment, advertising etc.) (Thanks Harry for the comment and pointing me in the right direction on that!).  That split apparently changes to 25% and 75% for homegrown players (see here for a good article that breaks down the fee split structure concerning MLS transfers).  Nothing to sneeze at for sure and a good bit of business for the Whitecaps especially as they now seem to have a wealth of young defensive midfielders (Teibert, Laba, McKendry, etc. and especially now with the recent signing of Flores).  Unfortunately, if this rumour is true, it appears that Koffie appears to have been identified as the odd man out in Robbo plans and has been identified as a sellable asset.  Besides Koffie being potentially sold on (as suggested by the Ghanian website), could there be more even movement of players in the midfield especially if Robbo goes to a single defensive midfielder (Laba) in a 4-1-3-2 or 3-1-4-2 formation as rumoured?  Maybe. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Karl Ouimette to the Whitecaps from the Red Bulls Via Craigslist?

A second rumour has now surfaced regarding the imminent right back on his way to the Whitecaps via trade and this time it has emerged from a very unlikely source: from Craigslist.  It seems that someone, somehow, somewhere noticed the following Craigslist ad regarding furniture being sold by a professional soccer player with the Red Bulls who had just been traded.

A poster on Twitter then surmised (adding two disparate rumours together) that it could be Canadian National Team member Karl Ouimette (hat tip to Thomas Brown on that one) on the move with the destination being the Vancouver Whitecaps and that seems entirely plausible.  Even the age of the furniture would seem to coincide with Ouimette’s trade to the Red Bulls in March of 2015, approximately 10 months ago….And there is the strange parallel to what happened with Felipe just prior to him being traded to the Red Bulls last year about this time where his trade was basically leaked through baby furniture and sports equipment Facebook ads (see below).

Ouimette, a former Montreal Impact player and Montreal Impact Academy product, going to the Whitecaps makes sense for a number of reasons.  While he is mainly a centre back he can also play right back comfortably and has done so for the Canadian National Team as recently as the recent World Cup qualifier against Hondurus in Vancouver at BC Place.  Ouimette would count as a domestic player so no international roster spot taken, he would be fairly cheap, he’s young, and has a fair bit of MLS experience.  He also apparently has had at least one spat with Red Bulls star Dax McCarthy previously (maybe they don’t like each other?) and maybe its time for him to move on from the Red Bulls?  His adding to the roster would also placate for at least a bit the “Whitecaps hates Canada” mantra of a certain soccer pundit back East.

What would be going the other way?  Not sure at this point but Ouimette to the Whitecaps does seem at least plausible.  Is the rumour true?  Know knows?  Given that the Red Bulls loaded up on defenders in the draft, there is all of a sudden a wealth of riches in the back line for the Red Bulls and the Red Bulls might be looking to move an asset such as Ouimette, especially since Ouimette was not in the first team for a good portion of last season.  If we could only find out if Ouimette has a thing for micro-fibre couches and mahogany furniture then we’d know for sure that we’ve found our man.  And as an aside, maybe this whole trade announcement via Craigslist will be a whole new thing?  Dunno.  Given the Whitecaps recent luck with trades and transfers breaking prematurely via Twitter etc., it would just figure if the Whitecaps latest trade was to break this way.

Update: A variety of sources on Twitter and Reddit have indicated that the individual selling the furniture is not in fact Karl Ouimette at all but is in fact former Red Bull Jonny Steele who recently signed with the Ottawa Fury for next season.  Is that in fact the case?  Dunno.  Strangely though, if it was Steele, why would he say he was traded in his ad rather than just moving on as he appears to have been signed in Ottawa as a free agent?  Surely Steele would know the difference.  Why would he say traded from the Red Bulls when the Red Bulls weren’t his most recent team?  Also, Steele is known for his abundant tattoos (he is after all known as the “Ink Man”), yet the person in the photo in one of the ads has no tattoos on their arm.  The plot thickens…LOL.  Good fun this.  The Reddit page for this is hilarious BTW.

Update to the Update: And here is the apparent final word on the matter from someone who actually responded to the ad.  What a total spoil sport.  Far more fun to just sit around and idly speculate.

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Why Falcao going to Columbus could be the best thing that ever happens to the Vancouver Whitecaps

Play along with me here.  Assume for the moment that the Falcao to Columbus Crew transfer rumours are actually true and that Columbus actually pulls the trigger on the deal and makes it happen.  Where exactly does that leave Kei Kamara?  As speculated earlier today, the arrival of Falcao would have a huge impact on the Columbus team but particularly on Kei Kamara. Kamara could play outside as suggested, or part of a two striker system potentially.  Or perhaps, just maybe, Kamara might look to move on.  Remember that Columbus was not necessarily Kamara’s first choice of destination when he returned to the MLS.  Due to the murky rules concerning MLS re-entry, Columbus held the top spot in the allocation order and chose to exercise their right to acquire Kamara.  So where rumour has it did Kamara actually hope to land when he returned to the MLS?  A number of destinations were rumoured at the time including his old home/club in Kansas City and rumour has it, yes you guessed it, Vancouver.

Now if Columbus and Kamara did decide to move on, moving on to Kansas City could cause many of the same problems that could potentially happen at Columbus.  They already play a 4-2-3-1 with Dom Dwyer at the top forcing them to possibly make changes that they wouldn’t want to do.  That leaves another possible option: Vancouver.  The Whitecaps are in desperate need of more scoring and in desperate need of a target man who can score with his head and with a proven scoring ability in the league and Kamara fits that bill to a tee.

Acquiring Kamara along with the current supporting cast up front (Manneh, Kudo, Rivero, etc.) as well as one of the stingiest defences in the MLS would make the Whitecaps an instant cup contender and IMHO would be worth breaking the bank and using whatever TAM money is left to pay down one of their current DPs.  So if Kamara was willing, could a deal be worked out between Columbus and Vancouver to bring Kamara to Vancouver if Falcoa does actually appear on the scene?  Sure.  With ample resources and attractive tradable assets (Koffie, Mattocks, Dean, draft picks, etc.), I’m sure a deal could be worked out.  As such, I’m secretly hoping that Falcao actually lands in Columbus as it could lead to a chain of events that could lead to one of the best things that potentially could ever happen to the Whitecaps: Acquiring Kei Kamara.

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Could Cristiano’s Reunion with Whitecaps Masato Kudo be in the Works?

A tweet late last night suggested that new Whitecaps Masato Kudo’s former teammate at Kashiwa Reysol, Brazilian Cristiano da Silva’s contract had not been renewed at Kashiwa Reysol.

Cristiano was on loan from his former club Ventforet Korfu in the J League (which is incidentally chock-full of Brazilian players) and did not have his stay extended (presumably due Reysol not wanting or not willing to pay his transfer fee).  The 28-year-old Cristiano is an attack minded midfielder (left winger mainly but can play striker and right wing) reminiscent of another Brazilian who once plied his trade with the Vancouver Whitecaps (and who shall not be named).  He recently scored a hat trick on free kicks near the end of last season has a more than decent strike rate for a winger (14 goals in 34 games).

Cristiano is on a much smaller ticket than Masato Kudo and depending on his transfer fee could he be worth a flyer?  Could the Whitecaps be looking to dip from the J League once again and unite Kudo with a former teammate in the MLS for the upcoming season?  Was Masato Kudo the only Japanese player that Whitecaps Coach Martyn Pert scouted on his recent trip to Japan?  Did Cristiano also catch Martyn Pert’s eye while he was scouting Kudo?

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Is Cardiff City’s Kenwyne Jones the target man Vancouver Whitecaps FC have been looking for?

Is Cardiff City’s Kenwyne Jones the target man Vancouver Whitecaps FC have been looking for?

Cardiff City’s out of favour striker and target man Kenwyne Jones has apparently played his last game for the club and is in advanced talks with “a foreign club”.  Could that club be the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS? Cardiff City is of course current Whitecap Robert Earnshaw’s former club and the Whitecaps have a number of ties to the club.  Jones is apparently a close friend of former Whitecaps Centre Back Carlyle Mitchell, who is now playing for former Whitecaps Coach Martin Rennie in Korea.  Jones has been rumoured to be on the move to the MLS previously (with Columbus Crew being the rumoured destination).  If a deal was to come to fruition, it is rumoured that there would be very little (if any) transfer fee.  It should be noted that Cardiff City and the Whitecaps already have experience doing deals as Cardiff City was Kenny Miller’s former club before he transferred to the Whitecaps in 2012.  With both Robbo and Earnshaw being in the UK at this time, could Jones, a Trinidad and Tobago International, be the big target man that Robbo has been coveting?

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El Salvadorian Club Interested in Vancouver Whitecap Darren Mattocks?

A recent tweet out of El Salvador by a local television reporter suggests that out of favour Vancouver Whitecaps FC striker Darren Mattocks is being looked at by El Salvador Club Alianza F.C. located in San Salvador, El Salvador.  The club is apparently looking at him as a potential strike partner for Argentinian J.J. Philippe.  It does not appear that a formal offer for the services of Mattocks, who is still under contract with the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps until December 31, 2016, has yet to be made.  With the recent arrival of Masato Kudo, look for Robbo to shore up the forward line with another striker, likely a target man in the Blas Perez mode.

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