Good Friday morning Caps fans — hope your Friday the 13th isn’t spooky, but rather a restful end to the workweek.
It is all quiet on the Whitecaps’ front amid the international break, with Canada getting smacked by Japan 4-1 a few hours ago in Niigata. Not how the national side wanted to get started under an interim manager.
For the Whitecaps, a well-deserved honor for Pedro Vite was announced, as he made the cut on the league’s 22 under 22 list. The list has always been a bit manufactured but is still voted on by legit people. And the league has never had a stronger pool of young players to choose from.
In truth, I almost expected a bigger step forward this season for Vite, who has begun rotating in and out of the starting lineup.
This is in part due to the development of Ali Ahmed (not Vite’s fault) and he put in a series of performances over the summer that made him difficult to drop. The fact that he isn’t starting every match is a positive commentary on where the Caps are at, not a knock on Vite.
Vite checks in at 16th on the list, which feels pretty fair. He is not generally kicked around in the elite tier of guys whose likely next destination is a top five league in Europe (Noel Buck comes to mind). But he is firmly in that next group of guys who seems destined to be sold sooner rather than later — and in all likelihood he will be the most lucrative export since Alphonso Davies when he does get moved on (the sale of In-Beom Hwang was a thing too, I suppose).
But I don’t think he is necessarily quite there yet. That consistency that has kept him from starting every match is going to be the biggest issue for a potential buyer. And it seems to be in his best interest that he turns in a strong season, start to finish, in MLS before he takes that step.
Take his goals added. American Soccer Analysis pegs that metric at a slightly above-average .25 but Vite’s clearest bright spot has been contributing to build up play. I also think he shows great tenacity in tracking back on defense and his counting stats on goals and assists will continue to come along. None of this is a knock on Vite, rather just a sign that with a year of more consistent minutes and growth he could be even higher on this list come next season and an even more integral part of the Caps’ team, assuming a European side doesn’t come knocking first.
Best of the Rest
More on the details of a rough friendly for Canada against Japan in Mauro Biello’s debut
An interesting profile of young Canadian dual national CB Luc de Fougerolles
Meanwhile, Canada will play their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal in Toronto next month, as they seek to clinch a Copa America berth
In the category of things I never would have saw coming, former Arsenal star Jack Wilshire is reportedly in talks to coach Colorado Rapids
How much are fans having to pay the price for Lionel Messi coming to North America?