The Vancouver Whitecaps could be preparing to say farewell to one of their biggest offseason acquisitions. The MLS transfer window opens July 18 and it appears that midfielder Fafa Picault might be on the move.
MLS insider Tom Bogert of The Athletic recently reported that Picault would like to move back to an Eastern Conference team.
Sources: Vancouver Whitecaps attacker Fafa Picault wants to head back to the East Coast this summer.
Picault, 33, available for trade. TBD what offers come but Vancouver isn’t believed to stand in his way if something acceptable arrives. pic.twitter.com/B2SBcvRbr0
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 27, 2024
Ahead of the Whitecaps four game road trip, Picault addressed the report.
“It’s never come from my mouth,” Picault told reporters. “I’ve just been here working. As you can tell I came on last game and gave my best effort. As long as I’m in a Vancouver jersey, I’m going to be giving my all.”
The 33-year-old signed a one-year contract with Vancouver on January 11 and earns a salary of $670,000. The MLS veteran is currently on his fifth team in eight seasons.
“I don’t know where it’s coming from,” Picault said. “Again, my job is to just play and try to score goals.”
Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster spoke exclusively to Daily Hive about the Picault situation following Saturday’s game.
“It’s not that he has asked to be moved,” Schuster said. “We have discussed what his situation is and I have told him that the best way to deal with the situation is to deal with it professionally. There is no club that has reached out to me, also not to him. He is not unhappy to be here. That doesn’t mean that it can’t change in the future.”
The timing of the report comes as Picault has been in and out of the Whitecaps starting lineup. In the past five games, Picault has played 28, 45, 45, 45, and 20 minutes.
“I think all this chatter comes up because if he wouldn’t play regularly or start,” Schuster said. “It’s a normal thing that a player would start or his agent would start to look for other options. This is probably true for several players on our squad. I think it would be bad work for his agent not to check if there are other options in case he is not playing enough.”
The New York City native came on as a second-half substitute and scored the game-winning goal in Vancouver’s 4-3 win over St. Louis City on Saturday night.
Picault’s 90th-minute tally was his first goal scored since April 6.
Fa-fa-fabulous 🤌 @Fafagoal23#VWFC | #VANvSTL pic.twitter.com/quPepGctrv
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) June 30, 2024
In 17 MLS appearances this season, Picault has scored four goals and added two assists.
After scoring in three consecutive MLS appearances earlier this season, Picault went without a goal for a two-and-a-half-month stretch before Saturday.
The best thing that Picault can do to accelerate a move when the transfer window opens in two weeks is to continue to play like he did when he came on against St. Louis.
The 8-7-4 Whitecaps will visit Allianz Field on Wednesday night to take on Minnesota United FC. They’ll travel to Quebec on Thursday to play CF Montreal on Saturday.