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Vancouver Whitecaps sign Egyptian midfielder Aly Ghazal

By Gareth Wolff

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA - MARCH 05: (L) Edin Dzeko of Bosnia and Hercegovina competes for the the ball with (R) Aly Ghazal of Egypt during the international friendly match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Egypt at the Tivoli stadium on March 5, 2014 in Innsbruck, Austria. (Photo by Simon Hausberger/Getty Images)
INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA - MARCH 05: (L) Edin Dzeko of Bosnia and Hercegovina competes for the the ball with (R) Aly Ghazal of Egypt during the international friendly match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Egypt at the Tivoli stadium on March 5, 2014 in Innsbruck, Austria. (Photo by Simon Hausberger/Getty Images) /
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Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced the acquisition of Egyptian international defensive midfielder Aly Ghazal on Thursday.

Wrapping up a busy 24 hours for the club at the close of the summer MLS transfer window, the Vancouver Whitecaps announced two signings on Thursday. The first was an international roster slot from New York City FC. The second, more exciting signing was central midfielder Aly Ghazal.

https://twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/895657357606309889

Ghazal joins the club as a free agent after being released by Chinese Super League Club Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng FC, and was therefore signed using Target Allocation Money (TAM). According to Transfermarkt, Ghazal cost the Chinese club a transfer fee of €2.6 million, making this a good piece of business for the Whitecaps.

Ghazal joined GZ H. Zhicheng in January of 2017, but played no games due to new Chinese Football Association regulations that limited the number of foreign players allowed to play for Chinese clubs. This is the second time this season that Vancouver have benefited from the new Chinese regulations, which also facilitated Fredy Montero’s loan move to the ‘Caps.

Before moving to China, Ghazal made 123 appearances for Portuguese club CD Nacional. He also has five senior caps for the Egyptian national team.

Ghazal has played mostly as a defensive midfielder, although he’s also filled in as a centre back. Based on his YouTube highlight reel (which everyone knows is the best way of judging a player’s abilities), he’s a midfield destroyer in the same mold as Matías Laba, only taller.

An Abundance of DMs

Ghazal’s signing raises questions about Carl Robinson’s plans for the Vancouver midfield. The ‘Caps now have five defensive midfielders on their books: Laba, Andrew Jacobson, Tony Tchani, Russell Teibert, and now Ghazal. A sixth, Ben McKendry, just joined FC Edmonton on loan. Unless Robinson plans on switching to a 5-4-1 formation with 4 DMs (possibly his dream formation), presumably someone will be leaving in the offseason.

Although Russell Teibert would seem the obvious choice given his lack of playing time, his homegrown status does make him valuable. Which suggests we might be seeing Laba’s days in Vancouver winding down. Ghazal is the same age as Laba and seems to have a similar playing style. The Whitecaps may be finding that Laba, a DM occupying a Designated Player spot, is a luxury they do not need.

Next: MLS could see a flurry of moves on Deadline Day

For now, Ghazal needs to get to match fitness. He hasn’t played a competitive game all year. After that, however, the Whitecaps will finally have some options in midfield.

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