Vancouver Whitecaps returned to Burnaby Lake this morning to continue their pre-season training camp in colder climes.
Having been in the Arizona heat for their last ten days of training, the Canadian chill will certainly have been a rude awakening for many, none more so that the new addition to the camp, 23 year old Ghanaian Nuru Sulley.
Sulley is on a week's trial with the Caps after impressing Tommy Soehn on a recent scouting trip to Africa, as Martin Rennie told reporters after today's training:
<i>"Tommy saw him when he was over visiting in Ghana, same kind of region that Koffie came from. So we're looking to see how he does and, obviously, if he ends up being as good as Koffie that might be a good thing for us."</i>
Sulley (also listed on some sites as Suley) is a central defender, who can also play the defensive midfielder role, and currently plays for Accra based club Tudu Mighty Jets FC of the Ghana Premier League, having previously played for another Accran club, Great Olympics.
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His last appearance for Mighty Jets was as an 84th minute sub in their January 14th GPL game against Arsenals, having missed the two previous matches. He has featured in 13 of the Mighty Jets' 15 GPL games so far this season, starting 12 of them, and seems to have split his time between defensive and midfield roles, with no goals.
Want to see him in action? Have a look at his highlights reel below:
<center><iframe width="500" height="369" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gafOcu8bx_M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
It's impossible at this early stage to tell what kind of acquisition Sulley could be. He didn't look out of place in today's training and was partnering Jay DeMerit on the back line.
He's seemed a little bit taller than Carlyle Mitchell, possibly around the 6'2" or 6'3" mark. It could be another gem of a find like Koffie, or we may never hear of him again after this week. We shall have to wait and see.
The addition of Sulley in the camp was offset by Irish midfielder Patrick Cregg going back to Bury, after failing to impress enough down in Arizona. Draftees Greg Klazura and Chris Estridge are also still in the camp and trying to earn a place on the MLS squad.
Martin Rennie also mentioned today that the Caps are unlikely to head into 'First Kick' with a full 30 man squad and there is likely to be at least one, and maybe two, spots available to fill.
With Sulley having come over, Etienne Barbara still rehabbing, the likelihood of Klazura signing and the prospect of another couple of trialists making the trip to Orlando next week, what the final make-up of the Caps initial squad will be is still anyone's guess.
Movements of current signed squad members are still expected by many, myself included, if further additions are to be made.
It's certainly going to be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks play out.
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