Good Friday morning Caps fans and hope you all are having a lovely week and that the weekend is beckoning.
Things are back to normal for the Whitecaps, who weathered the international break and will return Ali Ahmed, Andres Cubas, Pedro Vite and Brian White in time to trek across the country and take on Toronto FC.
It was a strong international break for Cubas and Vite, who looked good in starts for Paraguay and Ecuador. And, in the case of Vite, it seems folks are noticing.
Only Mercado is reporting that Vite is on track to join the Greek side Panathinaikos in a $3 million deal. While there has been no Canada-based reporting on this, it stands to reason that the Caps would be looking to cash in on Vite, who is out of contract at the end of the season and has balled out for club and country so far this season.
It was foolhardy to think that Vancouver’s hot start would go unnoticed and, realistically, Vite has been on the radar of European clubs before now. Heck, some Ecuadorian fans on X were favorably comparing Vite to Kendry Paez, the Chelsea wonder kid.
Given his contract situation, Vite is probably the most likely Caps player to depart mid-season but this would be a big blow. Vite’s stellar performances and perfect fit for Jesper Sorensen’s game model has rendered the departure of Stuart Armstrong largely superfluous. It would be tough to find a U-22 player who could step in and give Vancouver anything like what Vite has offered and that’s assuming the Caps can replace him before the window slams shut next month. Real Salt Lake took a nose dive after selling Andres Ruiz last season and I fear this would be a similar situation.
While I think a European move is inevitable, I am taking a wait and see approach here. If I were Vite, I would hold out for a better team or league and, contract situation aside, the Caps should be able to do better than $3 million. Sorensen has gotten a lot out of J.C. Ngando this season but he works better as a depth piece. Hopefully he’ll stay that way for a little longer yet.
Shameless Self Promotion
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DOMINIK FITZ WOULD BE A SUPER REPLACEMENT
Salty
i never thought i would see Vite play as well as he has- i always saw the potential, but didnt think he was motivated enough… now he is – not sure how he will handle a more aggressive and demanding Euro league- he should consider higher than Greece
i still think the Caps will take a good summer offer rather than loose him for nothing- and i do think Vite will be gone no later than the end of december- might as well get something for him in July, maybe in the range of $2 mill USD- i would imagine that Axel already has his scouts working on a replacement for either mid-summer or for 2026- crazy as it seems, maybe Armstrong would want a return as the Sheffield Wednesday jaunt didnt work out for a promotion return to the EPL
then its on to finding another quality AMF with JC as a nice complement- and in some ways, i like him more than Vite as he has more bite and deceptive ability – just a clever player who has worked hard to improve his game
some of the happenings will be dictated by hopefully new owners who see the potential of a good return- financially and city appreciation- on their investment by INVESTING
Salty
Andres Gomez