Last year I looked at a list of CPL players I thought the Whitecaps should take a look at (mostly for their MLSNP team). I thought it would be fun to do that again this year. If you missed last year’s edition, let me explain my approach to looking at potential signings in CPL.
The sort of players I would target, are players who are getting on the field at a young age and having a positive impact. So, certainly U23 players but ideally U21. I would advocate for offering teams deals that have a low upfront cost but can rise to a relatively high number if certain benchmarks are hit (MLS appearances, International caps, etc). The idea being to cast a wide net and snap up any young Canadian player with a hint of MLS talent. If you want to be “the Athletic Bilbao of Canada” you need to be first to young talents before they get expensive.
The reality, of course, is that most of these signings will not make it. That’s why you set the transfer up so it only ends up being expensive if the player hits their potential (in which case you don’t care that it was expensive).
The Poku Effect
There is one possible flaw in my model. This year RWD Molenbeek of the Belgian second tier paid 500,000 euros for Kwasi Poku after he ran incredibly hot on xG in 14 games as a centre forward.
Even if it ends up working out, the logic behind this transfer from Molenbeek was terrible. But the reason we care about this is this transfer might have an inflationary effect on the CPL as a market.
Would I be willing to take a chance on, say, Tiago Coimbra in MLSNP? Yes! Would I be willing to take that chance if there’s a 6 figure upfront fee associated with it? No! So there’s a chance my little system won’t be possible going forward. But for now, we’re going to proceed like it is.
A Quick Look Back at Last Year
Elephant in the room, the players I listed in last year’s article mostly flopped in 2024. Folks, there’s a reason it’s not called “CPL players who are 100% destined for greatness!” But seriously, it’s worth reflecting on the hit rate for last year’s picks.
Rayan Yesli made a terrible career move and went to a CPL team where there was competition for the #1 spot and was mostly second choice to Nate Ingham. Sean Young was taken out of the box-crashing role that made him so interesting in 2023 and played deeper (bad use of his talents in my opinion). Zachary Fernandez has had an unremarkable season for HFX wanderers. Mael Henry, Gabriel Antinoro, and TJ Tahid failed to establish themselves as regular starters. Woobens Pacius did get signed by an MLS team, Nashville, but suffered a nasty injury and then put up pedestrian MLSNP numbers on his return. Eryk Kobza was less of a nailed-on starter compared to last season.
The nature of “taking a punt” is that the odds are low. Nevertheless, I think it makes sense to take a slightly more conservative approach this time around. So I’m setting the bar a bit higher this year in terms of the level of success relative to age that I’m interested in.
Whitecaps Specific List
It’s also worth mentioning that this list is from a Whitecaps perspective. So, for example, Emil Gazdov is great but the Whitecaps don’t have any room for him. Takaoka and Boehmer are set to be a 1A/1B in the first team, Max Anchor is taking some big steps with WFC2 this year, Alexander Milosevic looks like he might be something and Ben Alexander is still out there coming back to play for Vancouver’s League 1BC team in the NCAA off-season. There isn’t room for another keeper.
Ok, here’s my list:
True Targets
Shola Jimoh/York United/16/W
On my rubric of “young player who is getting on the field and having an impact,” Shola Jimoh stands head and shoulders above the rest. 3 goals in 511 minutes for a player who only turned 16 this year is incredibly good. But what was really exciting was how consistently he was creating dangerous shots at such a young age. Jimoh is incredibly young and might not want to move across the country (remember, he still has school to worry about). But I don’t see why that should preclude the Whitecaps from buying him and loaning him back to York.
Noah Abatneh/York United/20/CB
The other player who stands out on the “be young, do good things” rubric is Noah Abatneh. Abatneh is a 20-year-old centre-back who played just about every minute for York until an injury sidelined him. Abatneh is not a physical beast but he’s technically strong and a solid 1v1 defender. He’s a natural fit as a wide centre-back in a back three. We don’t know if the Whitecaps will continue with a back three but if they do Abatneh would be well-positioned to work his way into being a first-team contributor. He would probably split time between WFC2 and the first team but he could provide some depth right now and potentially be a starter in the future.
Tiago Coimbra/HFX Wanderers/20/ST
Coimbra was on the list last year and he’s back this year. Injuries limited his time on the field but 4 goals and an assist in 798 minutes is really solid for a 20-year-old. He’s got a good physical profile and a high work rate. With NFC moving to the first team, the Whitecaps are in need of a domestic striker option to compete with Cyprian Kachwele. Unless they really rate one of the teenagers like Johnny Selemani or Rayan Elloumi who played a few cameo minutes last season to take a big leap, Coimbra seems like the most logical option to be that guy.
Tyr Walker/Atletico Ottawa/21/CB
Tyr Walker is another returnee from last year’s list, one of the few players to take a major step forward. He established himself as a regular starter on a team that featured “could totally play in MLS, trust me bro” all-stars Amer Didic and Luke Singh. His crazy duel numbers didn’t hold up over a full season but judging defenders purely on those numbers is fraught. At 21 he would have to really dominate MLSNP to earn an MLS contract but that seems like a possibility for him.
The Maybe Pile
I wouldn’t be, like, actively perusing any of these players. But if their agent phoned up and said they were available for free, or close enough to it, and there was an open spot on WFC2 then I’d be willing to give them a spin.
Eric Lajeunesse/Pacific F.C/21/CB
Lajuenesse played just about every game for Pacific he was available for before returning to UBC. He was a defensive fullback for Pacific, probably a wide centre-back at a higher level. He’s a pretty decent duel winner and a young Canadian so, sure.
Walid Binate/Valour F.C/21/W
Binate’s numbers were not that good. But he was the second-best per/90 producer on a truly woeful Valour team so maybe in a stronger team he could make things happen. His low shot numbers and low percentage dribbling sort of make me doubt it. But, he’s young, Canadian, plays a lot, and has had at least some positive contributions in a difficult environment. So if there’s nobody you believe in coming through, why not?
Jefferson Alphonse/HFX/21/CB
Alphonse made the jump from Ligue 1 Quebec to CPL and played a lot of minutes. His performances were fairly solid without standing out in a major way. But, say it with me people, he’s young, he’s Canadian, he plays a lot, and he’s having some kind of positive impact.
(Image Credits: Canadian Premier League)