Whitecaps loan defender to Swedish club
VANCOUVER (CP) — Sam Adekugbe is on the move again. The Vancouver Whitecaps announced on Tuesday that the 22year-old defender has been loaned to a Swedish first division club, IFK Goteborg, until the end of 2017. The Canadian international — who measures in at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds — recently returned from a year-long loan with then-English Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion, where he made five first-team appearances across all competitions.
Adekugbe travelled back to Vancouver in March to deal with a nagging injury, but was included in Canada’s squad at the CONCACAF Gold Cup earlier this month where he started two of his country’s four matches.
He has not made an appearance for Vancouver this season.
“Sam’s year in England served him well, and he was rewarded with a call-up to the Gold Cup,” Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson said in a statement. “This opportunity in Sweden will help him continue to grow as a professional football player while playing in a tough and competitive league.
“We’ll continue to track his development.”
Adekugbe made his Major League Soccer debut in 2013 and appeared to be the Whitecaps’ starting left back of the future. The London-born, Calgary-raised defender started seven of Vancouver’s first nine MLS matches in 2015 before being sidelined with an injury midway through the year. He wound up finishing with just two more appearances that season as veteran Jordan Harvey reclaimed his spot.
Adekugbe then made only two MLS appearances in 2016 before the loan to Brighton & Hove Albion last July.