Adding Ghazal dazzle
Egyptian Aly Ghazal ‘fits into the way we want to play,’ says coach
Looking to add some experienced talent in the midfield, Vancouver beat the MLS deadline by dealing for 25-year-old Egyptian Aly Ghazal
The MLS summer transfer deadline may have passed last night at 9 p.m., but the Whitecaps made one more move to bolster their roster.
Thursday morning, the club announced they’d traded $75,000 in allocation money to NYCFC for an international spot so they could sign free agent midfielder Aly Ghazal.
The Whitecaps now have 10 international players on the roster, plus Deybi Flores, who is on loan in Honduras.
Carl Robinson now has essentially two possible starters in every position on the pitch, something he’d indicated he was after in recent weeks.
Ghazal started the year in China but with the reduction in international spots for Super League clubs, he was released last month by his club, Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng. Ghazal became a free agent since his contract was mutually terminated, meaning the Whitecaps didn’t have to pay the usual transfer fee.
Previously, the 26-year-old had played for five years in Portugal, for Primeira Liga club CD Nacional. He made 117 appearances in all for Nacional.
He’s been capped five times by Egypt.
A 6-foot-2 defensive midfielder, his style of play is well summed up by a search for him on photo service Getty Images’ website: just about every action shot is of him removing the ball from an opponent.
Quite simply, Caps coach Carl Robinson said Ghazal “fits into the way we want to play,” in other words harassing the other team into making mistake.
In a statement released through the team, Ghazal said “I felt his big trust in my game as well as how it would suit Vancouver’s style of play and this was a very important factor.”
“I also did my own research and what attracted me even more to Vancouver was the great atmosphere around the club and the supporters,” he added.
His time in China saw him make no appearances in league matches. A recent change of manager and the signing of two new foreigners spelled doom for his time with the new promoted club.
Ghazal will now challenge Matias Laba for playing time, though the team says he’s also a possibility at centre back.
Yesterday the team added centre back Aaron Maund from Real Salt Lake; Maund has also played defensive midfield in the past, as well as right back.
Andrew Jacboson has been a Swiss army knife for the Caps since joining the club a year ago, lining up in various roles in midfield as well as at centre back.
Carl Robinson certainly has built some lineup flexibility in the team’s defensive third.
The Whitecaps play the New England Revolution on Saturday in Massachusetts.