LAFC: Losing Carlos Vela absolutely gut-wrenching

According to reports in Spain, Barcelona could make a surprise move for LAFC forward Carlos Vela. Losing him after such a promising start would be gut-wrenching.

Los Angeles FC enjoyed a genuinely brilliant first season in Major League Soccer. Alright, they crumbled a little down the stretch and bottled it in the playoffs when they had a great chance of making a run at the MLS Cup, but in terms of building the foundations of the franchise, they couldn’t have done much better.

Their head coach, Bob Bradley, proved his acumen once more. The Banc of California Stadium was a rousing success with the fans taking great pride in their new home and new team. The players they signed and acquired were largely productive, many of them young and developing for the future.

All in all, there were plenty of positive for LAFC to build off in the coming years. And at the heart of all of them was one Carlos Vela.

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Vela was the big-name signing that LAFC were entrusting to both win over fans and win them matches. He delivered on both fronts. Nominated for the MVP award thanks to his blend of creative and clinical attacking displays, the Mexican, playing in behind a central striker at the very heart of one of the best attacks in the league, scored 14 goals and assisted a further 13 in just 28 appearances, 26 of which were starts.

Those simple goal and assists stats tell the whole story. But if you were to regularly watch LAFC, you would see that Vela means so much more to that team than just creating and converting chances. He helps progress their attacks with an excellent passing range, he engineers space for others with his clever movement and the amount of attention he draws from opposing defences, his dribbling ability means that he is a threat from any position on the pitch. Vela is one of the best attacking weapons in MLS.

And now it could be all about to fall apart, just as they were beginning to get going. According to reports in Spain, Barcelona, who are desperately short on numbers in attacking areas and are, according to Ernesto Valverde’s disclosure, looking for a versatile attacker who can play across the front three with a proven goalscoring record, are considering a move for Vela this January.

How true these rumours are remains to be seen. Spanish reporting is never the most reliable and Barcelona are linked to a new attacker every day at present. But should Barca actually make an approach for Vela it is hard to see how he could turn down their advances. They are arguably the best team in the world. For however positive life has been in L.A., when Barca come calling, you don’t say no.

And that would make it difficult for LAFC to say no too. Keeping a disgruntled and unhappy player rarely ends well and it is often the best to cash in on their services while the market is still hot. At 29, should LAFC want to be well compensated, this might be their last and only chance to do so. Nevertheless, losing Vela would still be a major blow, with or without a handsome fee.

Vela is the linchpin of this team. He is central to everything they do, the beating heart of Bradley’s attacking mantra. Losing him, just as everything is beginning to get going, just as the foundations have been built and the future looks bright, would be gut-wrenching indeed.