TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Roster Update

The Vancouver Whitecaps should have more roster flexibility to make a big addition before the season begins, given what coach Carl Robinson revealed to a local sports radio station.

Speaking to TSN 1040, Robinson revealed Brek Shea would no longer occupy a Designated Player roster spot in his second season in Vancouver. Teams are allowed a maximum of three Designated Players – that is, players whose total compensation and acquisition costs exceed the maximum budget charge ($504,375 in 2018), with the club bearing financial responsibility for the amount of compensation above each player's budget charge

As J.J. Adams writes in The Province, using allocation money to buy down Shea's contract clears a DP spot that could allow the Whitecaps to potentially go after French winger Yohan Mollo or English attacking midfielder Jordan Mutch.

It could also figure into the Whitecaps' rumored interest in Club America striker Darwin Quintero.