First reported by Sam Stejskal at the Atlantic, and then confirmed by Abbie Mood over at Burgundy Wave, by the end of the week its expected Sam Vines will be sold to Royal Antwerp FC of the Belgium Jupiter Pro League. The reports are that the Rapids will get close to $2 million for Vines, plus a sell-on clause. The reporting is a little less clear on if that number includes the reported unspecified incentives or if those are in addition to that.
Royal Antwerp is the oldest club in Belgium and finished last season 2nd in the regular season behind Club Brugge who ran away with the league (16 points ahead of Antwerp). Belgium uses playoffs to determine its winner and European places, and Brugge easily won the overall title while Antwerp struggled in the playoffs and was passed by Genk, finishing 3rd. That places Antwerp into the Europa League playoff as one of the top 6 seeds, where they'll face one of the bottom 6 teams that came through the qualifying rounds in a home and home series for a spot in the Europa League group stage. The draw will be in early August with the games play in mid and late August.
According to reports Vines will have a chance to start immediately, as the current Antwerp roster only had two young LB's on it. It won't be given to him but you have to like his chances. The Belgium league has become known as a good seasoning league for young players in Europe who aren't yet ready to make the jump to the big 5 leagues. Antwerp has a new manager this season who is known for favoring youth which is a good sign for Sammy. Assuming this becomes official I'll be looking for the best way to buy a new Antwerp jersey and I'll pass on what I find here.
That's the Sam Vines side of this, now lets look at the Rapids side. First of all $2M seems low for what we were hoping to see for our first big homegrown transfer. Shane O'Neill was of course the first homegrown to make the jump to Europe, but that was a move made more out of "its not working here and we need to move on", not a move that showed clear success of our youth movement. The numbers thrown around for Vines by fans and even some experts this offseason were closer to $5 million than $2. That said, we don't really know, yet, what the final total will be. If we get $1.5 million up front, $750k in incentives, and 25% of a future $10M sale, then that's almost $5M total. Secondly a lower number that's easily agreed on can be a way to grease the skids of future transfers (Basset, Acosta, etc.) as the Rapids get a reputation of not over-valuing players which could pay off in the long run. Also we have to be realistic about the global soccer economy due to COVID. Most teams don't have the same money to throw around they did 18 months ago.
This also leaves the Rapids with a hole to fill at LB. They can plug in a lot of stop-gaps to get through 2021 if they don't have a good replacement lined up yet. Beitashour, Acosta, and Trusty have all shown ability to play there. None of those are great options long-term though. I'm really hoping that the Rapids have a plan to fill the hole this transfer window. Vines leaving was predicted by many people (including myself) so it shouldn't surprise the Front Office. Even if the move is for a young guy who maybe isn't ready to be a full time starter but shows potential for next season (think Galvan or Trusty) that makes squeezing through 2021 with stop-gaps palatable. But I don't want to look at the roster when training camp opens next season wondering who our LB is going to be.
In the end, I am really happy for Vines and excited to see what he'll do in Belgium. The league has a contract to show up to 3 games a week on ESPN+ and I'll be tuning in whenever Royal Antwerp is featured (which, as a top team, I assume they will be often). While the Rapids are hurt by his move its a great example for the Front Office to point to when recruiting young players. They can show how a local kid went through the academy, was signed by the first team and was loaned out to the USL, earned a starting spot for the first team, got a callup and got to play in the Gold Cup, and is now in Europe. They'll likely repeat that model with Bassett as well.
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Good point about being able to recruit young talent by pointing out that they can develop (or get a second chance - Acosta, Lewis and Trusty) with the Rapids and eventually get a shot with Nats and perhaps an offer from Europe.
Also agree that with Vines (as well as others), the RFO must have been planning on his departure and have both a short and long terms plan to "replace" him. In the short run it looks like Trusty can be a sold left back. My hunch is they are targeting a trade within MLS for a left back, and perhaps a younger one that will develop like Vines did.
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