<i>Following our original story on June 14th about David Ousted joining Vancouver Whitecaps, the club confirmed the announcement today. He is eligible to play when the international transfer window opens on July 9th. Below is our original article on Ousted, which we've bumped up to today's date in case you missed it. Basically an everything you need to know about the Danish keeper. We even have the size of carrot thrown at him earlier this year!</i>
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Scandinavian websites are reporting that 28 year old Danish goalkeeper David Ousted is set to join Vancouver Whitecaps in the summer transfer window in a move that will surprise many.
With three fairly strong goalkeepers already on the books, albeit each with particular weaknesses, strengthening between the sticks wasn't really top of everyone's agenda at this very moment in time.
That said, the Caps would be picking up a highly rated keeper back in his native Denmark and it is a position that needs to be upgraded in the future, so why not now if the opportunity arises?
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Martin Rennie ramped up speculation and internet sleuthing when he eluded to an imminent transfer earlier this week on Team Radio's Whitecaps Daily show, saying <i>"There's two or three really key positions that we have to fill, that we have to get right, and we think that we've managed to fill one of those"</i>, before adding <i>"Soon we will make an announcement.....we believe we've made an acquisition that will be a really key piece for us, not just right now this season, although we really hope they can make an impact this season, but also going forward for years to come"</i>.
David Ousted certainly seems to fit that bill and he would have a friendly fellow Scandinavian face in the squad right away with Norwegian goalkeeping coach Marius Røvde.
The Danish football website <a href="http://www.bold.dk/nyt/David-Ousted-paa-vej-til-MLS" target="_blank">'Bold'</a> (Danish for 'Ball') first reported that negotiations were taking place between Ousted and the Caps on May 27th and revealed that the keeper had been recommended to Vancouver by his American international teammate Charlie Davies. The Norwegian website <a href="http://www.siste.no/fotball/eliteserien/article6680832.ece" target="_blank">Siste</a> confirmed the deal two days later.
Ousted has played his last three seasons with Danish Superliga club Randers FC, having previously played for fellow Danish sides Brøndby, Hellerup IK and SønderjyskE. He also has international experience and has been involved in Denmark's U21, U20 and U19 camps whilst at Brøndby, and was capped at youth levels before that. He made one appearance for the Danish U19 side in a friendly against the Czech Republic in 2003.
Prior to joining Randers, Ousted spent three seasons with SønderjyskE and despite the South Jutland club finishing one place higher in the 2009-10 Danish Superliga, the keeper decided to make the switch to Randers in a swap deal, lured in part by the opportunity to play Europa League football, which his new team had qualified for via the nonsense that is the "Fair Play" entry.
Randers' coach Jacob Nielsen said of Ousted at the time of the transfer that he felt that the keeper had all the aspects that he was looking for in his number one goalkeeper.
Ousted made his debut for Randers in their Europa League First Qualifying Round home leg against Luxemburg side F91 Dudelange and played in all six of Randers' qualifiers in the competition, conceding 8 goals and keeping one clean sheet, before they bowed out to Swiss side Lausanne in the final qualifying round.
He went on to make 103 total appearances for the Hestene over three years in all competitions, keeping 35 cleans sheets (one every three games) and conceding 117 goals (1.14 per game).
Now those stats are pretty impressive on their own, but when you consider than in amongst all of that, Randers were relegated in Ousted's first season with the club, before bouncing back with a second place promotion the following season, they look even better.
Ousted's 14 clean sheets last season helped Randers to a third placed finish in the Danish Superliga, Europa League qualification on merit and a Danish Cup final loss to Esbjerg. His performances saw him named to the Superliga 'Team of the Week' on five occasions last season.
He was involved in a rather bizarre incident at his former club Brøndby in March this year, when the home fans pelted him with a number of lighters and "a carrot of approx 16cm and diameter of 4 cm at thickest point". No flying carrots reported in MLS so far, so he should be ok here.
The 6 foot 3 inch keeper's contract expired at the end of the season and with no agreement reached on an extension, and with a new overseas adventure beckoning, it seems that Ousted has decided to make the move to Major League Soccer. As you can see from the picture above, the initials VW were already ingrained on his mind!
There will be the obvious comparisons made to Sporting Kansas City's Danish keeper Jimmy Nielsen. If he's anywhere near as good as him, or half as crazy, then that will do for me!
So if the reports are correct and Ousted will be joining Vancouver in a few weeks, the big question now is what would this transfer mean to the Caps three current keepers? All of them have their strengths, but they also all have their weaknesses as well. Morph them all together and we could be looking at a killer keeper.
At 38, MLS legend Joe Cannon isn't getting any younger, with perhaps some niggling injuries, and after recently losing his starting place to Brad Knighton, you have to wonder if he's maybe ready to hang up the boots a little earlier than planned. Under MLS rules, his $189,916 salary isn't all that easy to get off the books.
Whenever Joe does leave the Caps as a player, you have to think (and hope) that the club will be keen to offer him some kind of coaching or front office role. That's if he wants to stay in Vancouver. He's been a great servant to Major League Soccer and would be a great ambassador and role model for the Whitecaps. I just hope that whenever he does finally end his playing career that it's on his terms and that he gets the proper send off he deserves.
Current number one keeper Brad Knighton hasn't done much wrong in his seven League and Cup appearances so far this season. Whilst Cannon is the better shot stopper and comes up with the big, game winning saves time and again, Knighton gives more comfort when coming off his line at crosses and general distribution of the ball.
Knighton's $66,000 salary is a bargain in the grand scheme of things and much easier to work around in the cap, but he hasn't hidden the fact that he misses living the US and that the weather gets him down here at times. After working himself into the starting spot both this season and last, he's not going to be happy playing second fiddle to a new arrival. You know that he is a player that will work his hardest to retain his number one jersey, no matter who may be coming in, but if he were given the chance of a move to somewhere else, he may also consider it.
Third keeper, Canadian Simon Thomas, is bringing home $35,125 and is kind of on an on-call season loan to NASL side Edmonton, whilst playing for the Caps U23s in the PDL. He's one for the future and isn't going anywhere anytime soon, well perhaps apart from to the Gold Cup with Canada. He probably isn't ready to be thrust in as a MLS starter just yet, but that will come and I trust him as a back up.
Thomas will be here next season, possibly as the number two keeper, the other two, I'm not so sure about. As for what will happen now if/when Ousted comes in, you have to think a Cannon retiral just shades a Knighton trade for the time being.
It may not be the exciting signing that Caps fans are looking for right this minute or one that immediately strikes you as being a squad strengthener or in a much needed position, but David Ousted looks like he could be an upgrade with an eye to the long term future and that can only be good.
We just have to sit back now and wait for an official announcement and see how this transfer will play out in the big overall Caps plan for the summer. You can be sure it won't be the last.
I wonder if he can play centreback as well.
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