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The Liberian-born, Edmonton-raised attacker moved quickly through the Caps’ under-16 and under-18 ranks when he arrived last summer, then showed enough in a handful of USL matches to get a look with the first team.

He’s displayed an impressive combination of pace, technical ability and desire. He’s not backed down from the physical side of playing against much older men. He’s not shirked his defensive duties, either.

He’s the best prospect the Caps have had in MLS, and by quite a margin.

Given Davies’ passport status — he doesn’t even have his Canadian one yet — and Canada’s woeful FIFA ranking, U.K. clubs will be eying him for a move at 18. But Davies could still be transferred before then and loaned out, perhaps back to the Whitecaps, who’ll be wanting a decent percentage of sell-on fees.

The Caps haven’t publicly put a price on Davies — they’ve gone out of their way to limit any hype around the kid — and there haven’t been any reported offers for him, either. But part of the incentive to sell is how those fees can be used in the salary-cap world of MLS.

MLS clubs receive three-quarters of the transfer fee for homegrown players, which Davies is. The league pockets one-quarter. The club can then use up to $650,000 of their fee revenue as general allocation money — to buy down other players’ salaries against the cap, for example. Any transfer revenue beyond that $650,000 can be used against the cost of a new or existing designated player, or invested in things like club facilities or youth development.