VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that the club has acquired Cameroonian international midfielder Tony Tchani and $300,000 in allocation money from Columbus Crew SC in exchange for Kekuta Manneh.

And there is more to this story than meets the eye. Here’s a closer look.

MIDFIELD HELP

In Tchani, Whitecaps FC acquire an experienced MLS player who helped lead Columbus to the MLS Cup Final just two seasons ago – a season in which he finished among the league leaders in successful passes (5th), passes into the final third (8th), and touches (9th). He also had five goals and six assists that year, which demonstrates his ability to drive play forward.

Here’s Exhibit A:

And B:

At 27, Tchani is in the prime of his career and recently represented his native country Cameroon. He is a prototypical box-to-box midfielder who, in his own words , “wants to be on the ball.”

And that should no doubt help solidify Vancouver’s midfield.

WINGMEN

Another factor to consider is Vancouver’s depth on the wings.

Carl Robinson has a number of options at his disposal. There’s Christian Bolaños, who led the team with eight assists in 2016. There’s Cristian Techera, who has shown the ability to get bums off seats. There’s Brek Shea, who has excelled on the wing in the past.

And, of course, there’s 16-year-old Alphonso Davies, who has taken the league by storm with his rapid rise over the last 12 months and continues to turn heads.

This was – and remains to be – a positional strength for Whitecaps FC.

RIGHT TIME

This is the final year of Manneh’s contract. The two sides discussed a new deal, but the reality is Vancouver could have lost him for nothing in the coming months.

Manneh, in fact, is free to sign a pre-contract with a club outside of Major League Soccer as early as this summer. And that would have drastically diminished any potential return if the ‘Caps decided to trade him within MLS later in the year.

Instead, they addressed a positional need and secured allocation money to further strengthen the roster. And if Manneh does end up re-signing in Columbus beyond this season, the ‘Caps will get a first round MLS SuperDraft pick to boot. The trade agreement is also set up to include additional compensation for Vancouver in the form of general allocation money or percentage of transfer if Columbus trades or sells Manneh.

Got all that?

As is almost always the case, this trade will be easier to evaluate over time. Either way, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.