UPDATE, 5 pm ET, Dec. 15 – The Whitecaps are planning to announce their latest addition via a media conference that's slated for 1 pm ET on Monday. Sporting director Axel Schuster and the player, a striker, will be in attendance. Live coverage is expected at the club's website, whitecapsfc.com.
In anticipation of the signing, there's even a Whitecaps-branded tank parked outside of BC Place. It could be a fitting marketing move, since Lucas Cavallini's nickname is "El Tanque."
TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Reports
Word broke last week that Vancouver Whitecaps FC were a serious suitor for Canadian international Lucas Cavallini, and a new report claims the deal is done.
ESPN's Jeff Carlisle wrote on Friday that multiple sources say the Whitecaps have agreed to a deal for Cavallini. According to one source, the Whitecaps will pay Liga MX's Puebla a $6-million transfer fee, and Cavallini will sign a four-year contract with the Cascadia club.
Another source told Carlisle that Puebla's potential Liga MX relegation rival Atlas is also trying to secure Cavallini, but that Puebla does not want to offer such a commodity to a direct competitor.
Earlier this week, Sam Stejskal of The Athletic tweeted on Wednesday that Cavallini's move to the Whitecaps is "close to getting done," on a reported transfer fee of at least $5 million. That followed the initial reporting from ESPN's John Sutcliffe a week prior that Cavallini was leaving Liga MX outfit Puebla for Vancouver,
Cavallini, 26, has played his entire pro career to date in Latin America, dividing time between Uruguay (Nacional, Juventud, Fenix, Peñarol) and Mexico, at Puebla, where he's been since 2017. A powerful scorer, he's helped lead the Canadian national team to a revival on the international stage lately.
Vancouver scored the fewest goals in the Western Conference in 2019, with 37 in 34 games, and are looking to upgrade in that department for 2020.
2020 Vancouver Whitecaps Roster as of November 21, 2019:
HEAD COACH: Marc Dos Santos
FORWARDS:
- Bair, Theo
- Montero, Fredy
- Reyna, Yordy
- Ricketts, Tosaint
MIDFIELDERS:
- Baldisimo, Michael
- Colyn, Simon
- Erice, Jon
- Hwang, Inbeom
- Rose, Andy
- Teibert, Russell
DEFENDERS:
- Adnan, Ali
- Cornelius, Derek
- Khmiri, Jasser
- Mukumbilwa, Georges
- Nerwinski, Jake
GOALKEEPERS:
- Crepeau, Maxime
- Hasal, Thomas
- MacMath, Zac
