As expected, the Vancouver Whitecaps have cashed in on some key players from last season. What is perhaps less expected is that they have sold both Jayden Nelson and Ali Ahmed. So, I thought it was time to take stock of where the Whitecaps are and where they could potentially go from here.

Thoughts on the Ahmed Sale

Losing Ali Ahmed, in many ways, sucks. He is a very good player, and with his loss, the Whitecaps have become weaker, at least for the time being. He was on an incredibly team-friendly contract and has a very inspiring story of overcoming the odds. The reported fee of 2 million is also suboptimal. The Whitecaps were in a tough negotiating position as Ahmed only had one year remaining on his contract.

The Whitecaps can be criticized for not making efforts to extend Ahmed sooner. That said, it seems clear that they calculated that losing Ahmed for less was worth it to have a greater chance at major silverware with him on a cheap deal. That gamble was about half an hour of football away from working, so it’s hard to get too upset.

Ahmed himself may also come in for some criticism for joining a club in Norwich, who are fighting against relegation to League One and potentially risking secure playing time ahead of the 2026 World Cup. But when we consider that a big part of Ahmed’s story is growing up in an economically depressed area of Toronto, I can imagine that securing the bag might have been a bigger priority than it would have been for other players. Especially since he has been significantly underpaid relative to his contributions during his time with the ‘Caps.

Manoeuvrability

2 million might not be that much on the world market. But MLS teams can convert up to 3 million from player sales into GAM per season. That is probably the play for the Whitecaps here. In September 2025, the Whitecaps had 1 million in GAM on hand. Keep in mind that they were on the 2DP/4U22 model last year, which gave them access to 2 million extra in GAM.

With Thomas Müller reportedly on a much higher salary this season, it seems probable that Vancouver will be moving back to a 3DP/3U22 model which also loses them the extra GAM. So this 2 million from Ahmed, plus the 700k in GAM they receive from the Jayden Nelson trade for this season (the overall 1.25M fee comes in instalments) they should have somewhere in the ballpark of 2.3 million on hand.

This money can be used to either buy down a player’s salary so that they count less against the cap or to buy down the cap costs associated with paying a transfer fee. It could also be used to trade for players within MLS. I see three potential scenarios for how the situation could develop from here.

Scenario 1: Status Quo

In this scenario, the Whitecaps don’t do any other major sales and use the GAM on filling their two open senior roster slots and, perhaps, re-signing some other key players on expiring deals.

Scenario 2: Maximum GAM

We should not take it for granted that the Whitecaps will be on a 3/3 model next year. We already know there has been some interest in Andres Cubas, which was rebuffed, but Matt Doyle has alluded to interest from “the biggest South American clubs.” So a sale is certainly not off the table.

If Cubas were to depart, the Whitecaps could stay on the 4/2 model and get access to that extra 2 million in GAM again. They would have to recoup their expenses in acquiring Cubas before they can convert any of that potential fee to GAM (I love the MLS rules), but that could still net you some extra.

All of this could give the Whitecaps over 5 million in GAM, by my count, which would put them in a good position to make a splash on the trade market or bring in players from outside the league that might otherwise be impossible to fit under the cap. A weakness of this strategy, however, is that there would only be 3 senior roster spots to fill, so the GAM can’t be stretched as far. One of these would have to be a Cubas replacement. So this strategy might make more sense if you also anticipate more departures.

Scenario 3: Buy Down Cubas

This is something that has been talked about almost every year since 2022. So far, it hasn’t been possible because Cubas’ budget charge has been too high. But the limits shift a bit each year, so maybe it’s possible now. The GAM itself wouldn’t have any impact on this as you need TAM to buy down a DP, it’s just a matter of where the threshold lies.

What Needs to be Added

I still have my eyes firmly on the defensive midfield spots. Nothing has changed about the need for more cover there. However, with Nelson and Ahmed both out, the Whitecaps are now fairly lacking in ball carrying. Ahmed and Nelson were both major threats 1v1 and moved the ball upfield through carrying a lot. Fbref credits Ahmed with 5.38 progressive carriers and Nelson with 4.

The only Whitecaps players who were in the same ballpark were Edier Ocampo (who does his carrying in deeper positions) and Kenji Cabrera (tiny sample size). This is to say nothing of the fact that Ahmed and Nelson combined to assist almost 25% of Vancouver’s goals in league play last year.

I find it a little bit perplexing that the ‘Caps decided to cash in on two players who do really similar things. Cashing in on one, fair enough, there’s only so many minutes, but now you’re in a position where you’re probably going to have to replace some of this ball carrying.

The Whitecaps have been linked to Canadian winger Adonijah Ouanda, but I don’t think he would solve the problem, at least not on his own. Firstly, Ouanda is playing in the Serbian second tier. He’s doing really well there, but there is likely going to be a learning curve with the jump to MLS. Secondly, even at that lower level, he’s not exactly breaking the scales when it comes to ball carrying.

As it stands, the ‘Caps have two open senior roster spots and one supplemental roster spot. They can also sign an additional U22 initiative player. If they want to add another non-domestic player, they will need to either move somebody out or acquire an additional international slot.

(Images: Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Mark Zhaung, Chaehyun Lim)