Keven Aleman is the future considerations component of the trade that sent Terry Dunfield to Toronto.
The Vancouver Province’s Marc Weber today confirmed what Canadian Soccer News reported as "likely" at the time. Neither the Whitecaps nor TFC have commented.
Aleman was released by TFC in the spring after he refused to commit to the club. He indicated at that time that he wanted to try his luck in Europe, with the hope that a strong performance at the FIFA u-17s would attract interest.
He’s yet to land a club, but is said to have a few trials remaining.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] By trading his rights, Toronto becomes the first MLS side to trade an academy player for a player on the senior roster. Even after they released him, they maintained his MLS rights for three years. Those rights will now move to Vancouver. So, even if he does land with a European club now, there is still a chance he could return to play for the Caps.
Once the three years passes, he would be subject to MLS’ normal re-entry process, with clubs needing to make a discovery claim for him.
It’s a calculated risk for the Reds. In Dunfield they know what they have, but there is little upside. Aleman has been called the “next DeRo” by some observers of Canadian soccer due to his offensive flare and skill on the ball.
That comparison also has a negative spin. A source close to the U-17 program and TFC academy told CSN that he “has a major attitude,” and is prone to “free styling” in training and games.
Still, even that source admits that he has raw talent. Aleman is by far the best prospect in his age group in Canada. At the FIFA U-17s, Canada’s opposition clearly focused on denying him the ball.
The knee jerk reaction in Toronto will likely be that the Reds gave up too much for an average player in Dunfield. There is legitimacy in that criticism, but it is also premature to assume that Aleman will be an impact player as a pro. No one thinks he’s ready to make the jump to first team football yet and world football is littered with players that were much more fancied than Aleman that flamed out.
It’s unlikely Toronto would have gave him up for Dunfield if there wasn’t a fallout over the commitment letter. As it stands, however, he was highly unlikely to return to the Reds. In that light, Toronto can be seen getting something for what was likely going to be nothing. Should the club have held Aleman to the same standard as it does the rest of its academy players? Should they even have those standards? Those are questions that can be answered separately from evaluating the trade. They did and they do – time will tell if it’s the right pathway.
It will be years before we know who won this trade. In the meantime we can be sure of just one thing -- this is a profoundly interesting trade, unique to MLS and the sport.