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Vancouver Whitecaps

Whitecaps Transfer Talk: Welcoming Bruno to Vancouver

by Michael Martinez
written by Michael Martinez


Image via Whitecap FC Twitter

Image via Whitecap FC Twitter

We are back with some more Whitecaps transfer news! It has been a bit since the last 3 but here we are.

Tuesday morning, the Whitecaps announced  that the club has acquired fullback Bruno Gaspar on loan from Portuguese Primeira Liga club, Sporting CP. Gaspar will occupy an international roster spot, but lucky us, we just recently traded for another so that will come in handy. Especially once we announce our DP!! He will officially join the club’s roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC), medical, work permit, and visa. Bruno will be on loan through the end of 2021, with a club option to purchase a rumored $1.5 million. 

The Portuguese/Angola international has spent the last 3 seasons with Sporting after a brief stint in Italy with Florentina. He is a Benfica Academy graduate and never made a first appearance for the Portuguese giants. He got his first team break with Vitoria Guimaraes making 93 total appearances for the club.

The big thing he is bringing to this team is experience. He has made a combined 7 UEFA Europa League matches between Sporting and Greek side Olympiakos. A player with that type of experience will be killer for this already young Whitecaps side. Bruno is expected to split minutes with Jake Nerwinski out at RB. He will provide some good competition for the veteran.  

I have a good feeling with this signing because he can bring more stability to the backline. We could easily have the best wingback pairing in the league with Adnan and Bruno! Add in Ranko and Godoy and we’re stacked. We just need to sort out our midfield and we should be set to turn some heads this upcoming season. 

The boss man is excited to bring him in as well,

“Bruno brings a wealth of experience from a number of very good leagues in Europe,” “As we continue to improve our roster piece by piece, Bruno is one part of additional moves we are looking to make. It’s important that we make sure we keep competition at a high level throughout our roster and Bruno will bring that to our team. We are very happy to have him join our club.”

Here is a little highlight reel for our new sighing:

I will be releasing another Whitecaps Transfer Talk piece coming out this week about some new rumors as well. Stay tuned for that coming soon!

Stay up to date with current transfer rumors and general Whitecaps news on twitter!1

@Michael_James32

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Vancouver Whitecaps

Whitecaps Transfer Talk: Chiquinho the #10 we’re looking for?

by Michael Martinez
written by Michael Martinez

Here’s another bit of transfer news coming our way, this time out of Portugal. 24 year old Portuguese attacking midfielder Chiquinho is rumored to leave Liga NOS powerhouse Benfica and be making his way to MLS. The rumored club? None other than the Vancouver Whitecaps! The Portuguese playmaker would be the #10 that we have been long searching for.

Chiquinho recently transferred to Benfica from Moreirense for $5.78 million just two years ago. While he hasn’t lit up the pitch numbers wise, 3 goals and 7 assists in 46 appearances, don’t let the stat line fool you. Most Benfica fans that I have spoken with have said that he always stands out when he plays. If given the chance, he would be a very important player for Benfica. He has many qualities and strengths that are well suited for MLS and I can easily see him lighting it up here. Another fun FIFA fact, he has a 76 rated card on FIFA Ultimate Team!


Stats via WhoScored.com

Stats via WhoScored.com

Chiquinho would be a significant signing. The 24 year old has a market value of $8.8 million and would immediately become the most valuable player on the Whitecaps roster. As well as one of the 25 most valuable players in MLS overall. After doing some digging myself, I found that Transfermarkt spoke to sources familiar with the situation and naturally, they did not want to confirm or deny the report. They specified that the Whitecaps are talking to several players and their agencies in their search for a new playmaker. We knew this from the previous article and the information that Schuster gave us last week. That search has been narrowed down to three to five players and Chiquinho is very much one of those targets. 


Stats via wyscout.com

Stats via wyscout.com

UPDATE: As of Friday, 1/9, there has been an official offer made from MLS  for Chiquinho. The fee and the club has not been confirmed, but with all the rumors going around, we can assume the club is the Whitecaps and the potential fee would easily be $10 million. Let’s hope we can get the deal done quick and the player wants to join the project. There is some competition for his signature… Rumors are circulating that Serie A club, Torino are talking about putting a bid for him…


Check out my Twitter for more updates on the Deiber and Chiquinho transfer sagas. Be sure to stay tuned for the next article when I get more transfer news!

Twitter: Michael_James32

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