Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all have a lovely end to the week and that you are looking forward to the weekend (rain and all).

It will be a quieter weekend in Caps world, as Vancouver is off until the midweek, when they host the red hot debutants San Diego FC. A bit of a break isn’t a bad thing at the moment and it gives us all a chance to watch Canada’s second match of the Gold Cup, where they will seek to top their own red hot performance in the first game.

That game also has some implications for the Caps’ transfer dealings, with The Athletic reporting that the club held meetings before the Gold Cup commenced with Luc de Fougerolles, the Fulham academy prospect who has racked up five caps for Canada, including starting against Honduras.

Injuries cost him much of the last season with Fulham’s youth squad and he now finds himself out of contract. Enter the Caps, who approached him about a multi-year deal. The Athletic report indicates they are not the only suitor, which in my mind implies that other European teams are sniffing around.

But de Fougerolles did indicate he wants first team minutes and the Caps likely could offer that. Sure, Ranko Veselinovic and Tristan Blackmon are locked in starters but de Fougerolles would likely vault over all other centerbacks on the depth chart. He has the profile of a guy who could fill in a fullback as well and that would increase the odds he gets on the field. Ultimately, Vancouver would probably like to rotate more and this would be an easy way of doing that. It also could see them move on Bjorn Utvik and create some cap/international roster spot freedom.

There are certainly arguments, from a Canadian National Team perspective, that it would be better for him to stay in Europe. I’ll leave those for someone else. But this is an ambitious move by the Caps to capture one of Canada’s more promising teenage talents and bring him aboard ahead of the World Cup next year.

I would imagine de Fougerolles winds up someone else, given the volume of interest I would expect to see from Championship or League One sides in England. That means he could fall into the Promise David category of ones who got away. But you miss every shot you don’t take and it is important that the Caps take these gambles. Their recent form and Jesper Sorensen’s track record of player development should be good enough at this point to get them these types of meetings.

There also is some news about outgoings to chew over, as Benfica are the latest club linked to Pedro Vite for a rumored $8 million fee. The last place we left off with this story was the club offering Vite a better deal to stick around, something that could well be in the star midfielder’s interest ahead of the World Cup. A starring role for Ecuador could serve player well (get him a better move) and team (get them a better fee) well.

But Benfica are a perennial contender for the Portuguese title (they finished second this year) and thus the Champions League (they’ll enter in one of the latter qualifying stages for next year). It also is a level that Vite might feel he could break into right now, thus mollifying some of the potential fears of making a transfer close to a big tournament.

The reports thus far have been in Portugal so, take it with a grain of salt. There has been no reliable U.S.-based reports confirming interest abroad. But the rumored fee of $8 million including add ons would certainly tempt Vancouver.

This all could just be silly season speculation. But as the Club World Cup wraps up and clubs in Europe (Benfica included) more seriously evaluate their transfer business, expect these links to persist. We’ll keep an eye on everything here to keep you updated.

Shameless Self Promotion

More on Canada’s ruthless start to the Gold Cups here ahead of their second match tomorrow night.

Best of the Rest

Seb Berhalter grabbed his first assist as a USMNT player, as they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 to clinch their spot in the Gold Cups knockout round.

Lionel Messi did Lionel Messi things to help Inter Miami beat Porto, the first MLS win over a European side in a competitive match. And it will likely punch their ticket to the knockout round.

Jesse Marsch is in hot water with CONCACAF once again after their Gold Cups opener.

TIL that Kianz Froese is still bopping around and might be headed to the Canadian Premier League.