Canadian Soccer News has learned that Keven Aleman, a former member of the Toronto FC academy and whose rights were acquired by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Terry Dunfield trade earlier this year, is close to making a decision on where he will be playing for the foreseeable future.
Aleman, who has been on trial in Spain and has interest from clubs there, is currently weighing what is best for his career.
"Keven has done well there and attracted interest from clubs in Spain. But he loves Vancouver and would be happy if he ended up signing there as well," Courtney James, Aleman's agent told CSN today. "He's just looking at all the angles right now before he makes a choice."
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James was hesitant to give a timeline for the decision but was confident they would have something to announce in the days ahead.
"Vancouver has been a top class organization to Keven. They've allowed him to explore his options and put no pressure on him to make a decision," James said. "We should know very soon where he is going."
If Aleman, who is only 17, was to choose Spain, he would be joining an academy side on a non-professional contract. But even it was a second division club, because of the way Spain's academy competitions are structured, he would likely see competition against the top academies in the country, including Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The news of an imminent signing comes only a few months after Aleman went through a very public departure from Toronto FC, when the club released him for, in their words, refusing to sign a letter of intent. Aleman hit back shortly after saying that he had full intention of signing with Toronto but wanted to wait until after the U-17 World Cup.
He would be shipped to the Vancouver Whitecaps soon after in the trade that brought Terry Dunfield to Toronto. Vancouver now has Aleman's MLS rights for the next three years.
Canadian Soccer News will update on his selection when a deal is finalized.