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Kwasi Poku


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19 minutes ago, Obinna said:

A CPL player moving to a 2nd div Belgian side that was recently in the top flight is a good scenario, but somehow I feel underwhelmed given what I think Poku's ceiling is.

There is also the matter of Liam Fraser getting stuck in the Belgian second division. Promotion or a transfer to the top flight is not guaranteed, but I hope that's what happens in 12-18 months.

I would rather him go to a team like this and get solid playing time than get a bigger move and struggle for time. I think the prior CPL exports are testament to the challenges of moving to a new league.  And if he succeeds at this level the next move will come.   

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2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

I would rather him go to a team like this and get solid playing time than get a bigger move and struggle for time. I think the prior CPL exports are testament to the challenges of moving to a new league.  And if he succeeds at this level the next move will come.   

Definitely. If CPL to second tier Belgium, or Holland, can become a thing, that raises the CPL potential. 

As is, there is no pattern whatsoever, we have gotten very few direct quality transfers out of CPL, maybe just the step ups to MLS teams, then odd cases, like Bustos to top tier Sweden. Borges failed, Rea failed, there are a lot of mediocre precedents.

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11 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Definitely. If CPL to second tier Belgium, or Holland, can become a thing, that raises the CPL potential. 

As is, there is no pattern whatsoever, we have gotten very few direct quality transfers out of CPL, maybe just the step ups to MLS teams, then odd cases, like Bustos to top tier Sweden. Borges failed, Rea failed, there are a lot of mediocre precedents.

Reminds me of Goteh Ntignee, who transferred from Cavalry to a French Ligue 2 team and seems to have fallen off the face of the earth

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CPL transfers are in a weird place. Guys like Pepple, Ntignee, now Poku are getting sold abroad after a pretty small handful of good games which makes sense to the player because they went to move abroad, it makes sense to the European club because the fees are low and it makes sense to the CPL club because the incoming fees are very helpful. Then, these guys move over to clubs that don’t have much invested in them, they’re not ready, and they get buried. Poku seems like the best of the bunch so maybe he sticks, it’s a reasonable level to move to, but part of this feels like it’s setting players up to fail at crucial stages of their development. 

Edited by InglewoodJack
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26 minutes ago, narduch said:

Reminds me of Goteh Ntignee, who transferred from Cavalry to a French Ligue 2 team and seems to have fallen off the face of the earth

The website suggests he’s still there, though they don’t post a tonne.

Looks like the coach is Guyot who was at TFC2

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4 hours ago, Aird25 said:

 

 

If the fee is accurate (and I'm not doubting it), that's another reason why teams need to be playing more kids.  People can complain about how they "don't pay to watch teenagers", but that's where the sale value is for the CPL.  It's based on potential, on what they've shown in the short term.  A "veteran" player in the 24, 25, 26, etc range simply has little transfer value from the CPL.

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23 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

CPL transfers are in a weird place. Guys like Pepple, Ntignee, now Poku are getting sold abroad after a pretty small handful of good games which makes sense to the player because they went to move abroad, it makes sense to the European club because the fees are low and it makes sense to the CPL club because the incoming fees are very helpful. Then, these guys move over to clubs that don’t have much invested in them, they’re not ready, and they get buried. Poku seems like the best of the bunch so maybe he sticks, it’s a reasonable level to move to, but part of this feels like it’s setting players up to fail at crucial stages of their development. 

There are just as many guys that have moved abroad and done well though. I think scouting of the league is pretty minimal and clubs and agents are still just trying to find out the level of most players.

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4 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

If the fee is accurate (and I'm not doubting it), that's another reason why teams need to be playing more kids.  People can complain about how they "don't pay to watch teenagers", but that's where the sale value is for the CPL.  It's based on potential, on what they've shown in the short term.  A "veteran" player in the 24, 25, 26, etc range simply has little transfer value from the CPL.

Except many of the sales from the league so far have been players in that 23-27 range, and even more of the successful moves abroad have been more mature players 

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3 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Except many of the sales from the league so far have been players in that 23-27 range, and even more of the successful moves abroad have been more mature players 

And they've been for less money and the "success" is still limited.  I'm looking at the Transfermakt page and Borges is still listed as the most valuable transfer.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/canadian-premier-league/transferrekorde/wettbewerb/CDN1

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56 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

And they've been for less money and the "success" is still limited.  I'm looking at the Transfermakt page and Borges is still listed as the most valuable transfer.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/canadian-premier-league/transferrekorde/wettbewerb/CDN1

It was reported that the Ntignee fee was in the region of $500,000.
https://calgarysun.com/sports/cavalrys-transfer-of-goteh-ntignee-to-french-side-a-win-for-everyone

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The objective of the CPL is to create a pathway to young Canadians.

Forge will make some money & will find another one. Might be just one that just scored on loan.

Any Canadian going abroad should be celebrated.

These kids will come back one day, with experience, might play in our leage in their 30's & coach.

It's a win-win for everyone, except Forge's fan in the short term.

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RWDM are not a big club. Average home crowds were only about 4500 last season in the top tier when they had larger clubs like Anderlecht visiting:

https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/belgian-first-division-a/attendances/2023-2024

That number should be treated with a healthy degree of skepticism.

Edit: A 28.5 million euros fee obtained from Olympique Lyon might help explain it though:

https://www.transfermarkt.com/rwd-molenbeek/transfers/verein/54189

Edited by Ozzie_the_parrot
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12 hours ago, Aird25 said:

There are just as many guys that have moved abroad and done well though. I think scouting of the league is pretty minimal and clubs and agents are still just trying to find out the level of most players.

If 'abroad' means outside of North America, I struggle to think of any examples.

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12 hours ago, Aird25 said:

There are just as many guys that have moved abroad and done well though. I think scouting of the league is pretty minimal and clubs and agents are still just trying to find out the level of most players.

I do hope it works out- I don’t think we’ve had a Canadian CPLer really break out in Europe yet. Loturi has been solid, Abzi has his moments too. I don’t think he should push his transfer into the future though, the time to move is now, I just hope his team invests enough time for him to get his chances, establish himself and play through any early hiccups. Belgian 2nd tier should be a more than adequate division for him to pick up where he’s leaving off with Forge. 

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1 hour ago, jonovision said:

If 'abroad' means outside of North America, I struggle to think of any examples.

Zator has done alright I guess. And even earned call ups and caps because of it.

But I get your overall sentiment. 

And honestly there's no shame in taking your shot and coming back like Borges and Tabla did.

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9 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Alghamdi is another obvious example that people never seem to mention. Maybe because he's opted to represent another country like Farsi, but they're both good examples of the Canadian development pathway 

TBF most people say we haven't had success sending players to Europe, but yes that could also be "overseas" or something instead and include Asia, etc.

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