Whitecaps sign Scottish star Ryan Gauld
The Vancouver Whitecaps have officially signed Scottish attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld to a three-year designated player contract.
The club announced the long-rumoured deal Saturday, saying in a release that the 25-year-old will begin training with the team in Vancouver next week.
Gauld has spent last season playing for Portuguese side Farnese where he tallied nine goals and seven assists in 33 games. He led the team in scoring and ranked sixth in Primeira Liga in assists.
Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos said the five-foot-seven, 150-pound player will provide the team with options.
“He has very good delivery and is very dynamic without the ball. He also brings leadership qualities and experience to the group, which will help our young players next to him grow and become better,” Dos Santos said in a statement. “We are very glad to have him joining our club.”
The native of Aberdeen came up through Dundee United's youth system and previously played for Sporting Lisbon.
Sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement that the 'Caps began pursuing Gauld in January.
“It was a complicated process due to several factors but as he was our top target, we never gave up,” Schuster said. “He is a difference maker, brings experience, as well as an exceptional work rate, all qualities we identified as being key characteristics that we need in this position.
The Whitecaps (3-7-5) are set to host Minnesota United at their temporary base in Sanday, Utah, on Saturday. It will be the final “home” game Vancouver plays south of the border this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.