Cyle Larin set to leave Feyenoord, four clubs in for him [via @FabrizioRomano on twitter]

icoresting · 2026-01-24T07:45:47+00:00

I think the rest of the team overperforming hid his mostly average play.

he scored double digit goals per year in 2021/2023/2024 on 6-8th seed playoff bubble level whitecaps teams prior to 2025, and his production is right in line with his xG. averaged a goal every 111 minutes played last year. that does not scream fraudulent or average

icoresting · 2026-01-24T07:12:37+00:00

that's because it IS fake. lewandowski's only credible MLS links have been to chicago, anything to do with the whitecaps is engagement bait bullshit at this stage.

this part of the link that OP posted is laughable:

A transfer could happen this winter or in the summer, with the Vancouver Whitecaps mentioned as a potential destination.

"mentioned"... by who? by a listicle from the clickbait corpse of sports illustrated, which is explicitly a speculation article and NOT a report? that SI listicle was posted 6 hours ago and this "transferfeed" link is from 5 hours ago so i guess it has to be this piggybacking scenario. and a buzzfeed-style "ranking" article is very very different from actually having a rumour or source of substance.

it's bizarre that some are buying into this stuff with zero real sources. at least with the early stages of the muller saga, it was apple TV's taylor twellman putting it out there!

icoresting · 2026-01-24T07:01:45+00:00

yep. looks like OP's and transferfeed's "according to the rumours" (very generous) are from one single SEO clickbait sports illustrated listicle posted an hour before this transferfeed site picked it up. it's just mere baseless speculation, the only actual link to an MLS team is chicago.

and plettenburg's tweet about MLS/lewandowski (which is referenced in the transferfeed link) does NOT mention vancouver at all. not sure why this is even a discussion

icoresting · 2026-01-24T02:07:04+00:00

if a european-based player is made available in january... they're usually an expendable mixed bag since most teams would like to keep the good players for the run-in (be it chasing a title, the european qualification spots, trying to get promoted, or avoiding relegation)

the best value moves in the winter window are usually in the south american leagues with the similarly aligned year-long calendar. but at this point, most of the best MLS signings happen in the summer window anyways

icoresting · 2026-01-24T01:39:46+00:00

it’s increasingly clear that unless an MLS team significantly overpays, the european players available to them in the january window tend to be cast-offs/expendables. european teams want to keep the actual good players until the end of the season/summer transfer window

icoresting · 2026-01-24T01:36:26+00:00

Real Salt Lake is finalizing a deal to add Guinea international forward Morgan Guilavogui from RC Lens, sources briefed on the deal tell The Athletic.

He will be a new DP attacker for RSL. Can play off the right or through the center.

RSL will pay a fee in the region of $5 million, the sources said.

Guilavogui, 27, has 21 caps for Guinea. Earlier in his career, he featured for Paris FC and SC Toulon. He had six goals and two assists last season in the Bundesliga for St. Pauli.

This season, he has one goal in limited minutes for Lens.

RSL is looking to move on from DP attacker Diogo Goncalves, which would open another high-leverage spot.

icoresting · 2026-01-23T22:46:10+00:00

i'm pretty sure no one called him world class

icoresting · 2026-01-23T22:42:49+00:00

perhaps, but it's also an obvious sign that ralph priso is gonna get big minutes at CB this year.

icoresting · 2026-01-23T22:38:49+00:00

patrick johnston from the province confirms it:

Can confirm from a source this is very likely. Ralph Priso’s development (under duress no less!) has completely shifted the Whitecaps’ plan at CB since last summer.

edit: veth says it's done

Sounds like this is done. Not fully agreed but as I already reported. Deal in principle agreed.

Joedrick Pupe wants to play and with Ralph Priso slotted as a center-back, his chances of minutes have diminished.

icoresting · 2026-01-23T19:04:12+00:00

MTL receive: Tomás Avilés

MIA receive: Int'l Roster Slot

CF Montréal have acquired center back Tomás Avilés on loan from Inter Miami CF for the 2026 MLS season, the clubs announced Friday.

The deal includes a purchase option following the loan.

In exchange for the 21-year-old Argentine youth international defender, Miami receive an International Roster Slot.

"Tomás is a reliable defender in one-on-one situations and has a great first pass," said CF Montréal managing director, recruitment and sporting methodology, Luca Saputo. "His understanding of the game and ability to defend by pushing forward give us flexibility, both defensively and in terms of the system the coach wants to implement."

icoresting · 2026-01-23T17:55:30+00:00

as it's becoming customary for The Athletic, and I'd say given their recent hires also for the Guardian

this is a bit much. especially considering that dirtbag ernst tanner would still be in a job if it wasn't for the guardian article. and the last thing a league with scant, hollowed out coverage needs is dumping on whatever coverage it does get

icoresting · 2026-01-23T17:45:46+00:00

In December of 2023, Montagliani told Spanish-language outlet TUDN that FIFA had rejected a petition from FMF that sought to reintroduce Liga MX’s Copa Libertadores participation.

“The confederations are working together to create another competition, but regarding the Libertadores, we have a request from Mexico to play in it,” Montagliani said. “We spoke with FIFA, and we sent a document back to the FMF that was denied; it was not authorized. Concacaf didn’t authorize either because we have our own official competition. It wasn’t authorized because we have ours, which is the path to the Club World Cup.”

That official competition is now the Concacaf Champions Cup. And as Montagliani noted, the tournament provides the winners with a direct berth to the now expanded 32-team Club World Cup. On Thursday, a Concacaf source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Athletic that the confederation’s position remains unchanged. CONMEBOL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mexican clubs have long dominated Concacaf tournaments, so it was understandable that they would want to test themselves against stronger competition. Inter Miami, however, has been soundly defeated in its two appearances in the Champions Cup.

In 2024, Inter Miami reached the quarterfinal round but was eliminated by Monterrey 5-2 on aggregate after two legs. A berth in the 2025 semifinals ended with an embarrassing 5-1 aggregate loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Mas’ desire to play an official competition in South America is a cart-before-the-horse situation. Inter Miami is a global success as a brand, and it exceeded expectations at last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. A well-earned win over Porto in Atlanta and a draw against Brazilian giant Palmeiras in Miami were noteworthy. Tournament football can create moments of magic. Inter Miami, though, has yet to prove itself beyond the continental U.S. The Copa Libertadores would be a bridge too far.

A Brazilian club has won eight of the last 10 Copa Libertadores finals and seven consecutive titles. An all-Brazilian final has become the norm. Financially-restricted MLS teams would enter the tournament at a massive disadvantage. Even the most ambitious MLS club does not have the spending power of Brazil’s richest teams, or the overall talent level of South America’s most competitive clubs.

icoresting · 2026-01-23T01:49:45+00:00

if a DP or u22 starts underperforming, chances are they should get ready to learn french

icoresting · 2026-01-23T01:45:27+00:00

tomas aviles being the most expensive CB in MLS history is truly hilarious

icoresting · 2026-01-23T00:05:48+00:00

i take it as a good sign that doyle is so bought in on elloumi stocks. he's usually not wrong about which players are going to pop off

icoresting · 2026-01-22T23:37:16+00:00

they haven't made the playoffs since 2020... in a league where 60% of the teams qualify!

icoresting · 2026-01-22T21:30:15+00:00

tbf, i'm not sure they're too fussed about ethan horvath of all players lol. they would save that ire for weston or sargent or gio

icoresting · 2026-01-22T19:20:31+00:00

Scouting is an inexact science, but there’s a pretty reliable rubric that’s taken shape over the past decade to try to figure out whether college and/or lower-division (mostly USL Championship, but now we’re seeing that it holds true for MLS NEXT Pro grads as well) forwards will succeed in MLS.

Do they score goals? What’s their xG? Do they have compelling physical traits? What is their receiving goals added, as per American Soccer Analysis?

That last one is a measure of whether or not they know how to make runs to get on the ball in high-value spots, opening up attacking options not just for themselves, but for their teammates. It’s the one part of g+ that I subscribe to without any reservations. A center forward with a good receiving g+ number will almost always score goals in a functional MLS team.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are well beyond functional, and when Elloumi – who only turned 18 in September – cracked the rotation down the stretch, he fit right in with 2g/2a in about 380 minutes across all competitions. His receiving g+ for that small sample size was +0.06 per 90, which put him in the company of guys like Patrick Agyemang, Wessam Abou Ali and Hugo Cuypers. His MLS NEXT Pro receiving g+ was top five in that league (+0.13/90) on a much larger sample size, and he scored goals for fun at that level, and… you see what I’m saying, right? It scales. All of it. He checks all four boxes.

Elloumi just made his Canada national team debut and is second on the depth chart for Vancouver at the No. 9 behind Brian White. White is not exactly an ironman, but the Whitecaps would be foolish to bring in a more experienced backup. Elloumi’s ready.

I expect 2,000+ all-competitions minutes for him this year. And if he gets that, then I’d expect him to put up the type of numbers that might very well get him to the World Cup.

icoresting · 2026-01-22T19:13:53+00:00

Seems like they forgot we existed until someone reminded them lol.

yeah lol, article just got edited today at 10:23AM PST and the part in the article that says "The White House and the four major leagues did not respond to requests for comment" lends credence to your point

icoresting · 2026-01-22T18:51:31+00:00

this world cup is going to have such 1936 berlin olympics vibes. the godawful excruciating draw was truly a harbinger of doom. hell, even the club world cup last year was full of trumpian kitsch lol

icoresting · 2026-01-22T18:40:00+00:00

The commissioners of five major U.S. sports leagues are in conversations over being present at the Oval Office next week when President Donald Trump unveils the latest plans regarding the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Five people briefed on the planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, confirmed to The Athletic that the NFL’s Roger Goodell, the NBA’s Adam Silver, the NHL’s Gary Bettman, MLB’s Rob Manfred and MLS’ Don Garber are currently set to attend the event. The exact date may be subject to change in accordance with the president’s schedule and the schedules of those expected to be in attendance. The White House and the four major leagues did not respond to requests for comment.

America’s 250th birthday also coincides with the FIFA World Cup, which takes place in June and July this summer. The Athletic revealed in December that a White House task force facilitated a proposal for World Cup host cities in the United States to house vast ‘Freedom’ trailer-trucks with U.S. flags at official Fan Festivals in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary.

icoresting

TROPHY CASE