NEWS – The European January transfer window finished on Tuesday, but many MLS Clubs are still on the hunt for new additions to their team for the upcoming 2023 season. With the home opener just over three weeks away, the Vancouver Whitecaps are slowly starting to make some more important moves after their early start, meaning transfer rumors are at an all-time high.
Vancouver Whitecaps Transfer Roundup – Feb 3rd, 2023
Deals in Motion
Sergio Córdova – FC Augsburg
Early morning yesterday, news broke out that the Vancouver Whitecaps were in advanced negotiations with FC Augsburg of Germany for 25-year-old Venezuelan striker, Sergio Córdova. The deal is reportedly for around $2 million, and his contract is thought to be on a DP scale. The 6’2″ striker spent last season on loan at Real Salt Lake and scored 11 goals and one assist in 35 matches.
Many Whitecaps fans may remember his goal versus Whitecaps last summer, where he latched on to a beautifully thread through-ball and spun Ranko Veselinović before slotting it past Thomas Hasal. That goal shows his composure in front of the net and how dangerous he can be on the counter, regardless of his size.
But what many RSL fans may also recall was his slow start, his inconsistency, and his poor mentality. He did improve in the second half of the season, finding red-hot form when he scored five goals in an eight-game stretch. And the goals he scored then were some really impressive, technical goals. But when the chips were down, his head would drop, and he would go on a bad run of form.
Overall, he is a bit of a mixed bag. He scored 11 goals from an xG of 11.2 but then missed 14 big chances across the season (Fotmob). If the ‘Caps can get him into some consistent form, and improve his mentality, then they might have a solid forward down the middle.
WE ON TOPPPPPPPPPPP 🤌 pic.twitter.com/EKUG11j5To
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 21, 2022
Yohei Takaoka – Yokohoma F. Marinos
Not 24 hours after the Sergio Córdova news broke out, Whitecaps fans got another exclusive scoop as their team was also finalizing a deal for 26-year-old Japanese ‘keeper Yohei Takaoka. The deal had been in the works for a few weeks, but no new updates were released until today, meaning many had thought the deal died. A price for the bid has not been released but his market value is €1 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Even though Takaoka might not be the tallest goalkeeper, standing at just under 6’0″, he was impressive enough last season to be named in the J1- League’s Team of the Season after leading his club to the championship. He kept 13 clean sheets in 34 games, conceding only 35 goals.
With how much of a tumultuous time Thomas Hasal had in his debut season as the starting Whitecaps ‘keeper, it is probably a good idea to sign the Japanese goal-tender. A keeper that is a leader at the back and good with his feet, he can bring valuable experience and competition to that goalie spot that Hasal really didn’t have last year with Cody Cropper.
🧤 With 13 clean sheets (second most in the 2022 J1 League) and many other amazing saves after 34 matches, the Japanese goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka has been a reliable shield for Yokohama F･Marinos to win their 5th J1 title in history. 📖🏆
© J.LEAGUE – All Rights Reserved #JLEAGUE pic.twitter.com/5wwqGP2IKd— J.LEAGUE Official (English) (@J_League_En) December 11, 2022
Deals in the Dust
Tai Baribo
The Whitecaps were in the works of this deal for a couple of weeks in early January, but later that month their $1 million bid was reportedly rejected by his parent club Wolfsberger SC of Austria. The news came out after the Whitecaps faced Wolfsberger in a pre-season friendly in Marbella, Spain, where Baribo featured and even scored.
It does seem Baribo was Plan A and now Cordova is a kind of plan B, but with Cordova having more MLS experience and less time needed to settle, it may be the wiser deal in the end.
Salif Sané
The veteran Senegalese centre-back was with the Whitecaps for their pre-season trip to Spain, and many reports were swirling around about his availability and interest. Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster seemed to have framed it more as a beneficial short partnership rather than a trial or try-out. Sané is coming off a long list of lengthy injury spells and is most likely using this opportunity to try to get back to fitness.
Head Coach Vanni Sartini did make good use of him in his time there, playing him for a short stint in the game against Wolfsberger, but reports afterward confirmed that Sané was not going to sign with the Whitecaps, and would explore other options instead.
Pablo Insua
Another rumour that came towards the end of January was that the Whitecaps were interested in signing 29-year-old Spanish centre-back Pablo Insua from Sporting Gijón. Insua played for Schalke 04 in Germany when Axel Schuster was at the club, so there seemed to be potential for a deal to transpire.
However, a couple of days later, reports out of Spain confirmed that Gijón did not want to sell the experienced defender midway through the season, where they are fighting to promote to La Liga.
Season Starting Soon…
With these brand-new deals seemingly getting finalized, it looks like the Whitecaps are also well on their way to finalizing their squad for the upcoming season. It will remain to be seen if these deals are sufficient to bring the Whitecaps back into playoff contention, or if they are to suffer the same fate they did the season prior.
