Ali Adnan: Should He Stay or Should He Go?

The Vancouver Whitecaps suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Seattle Sounders last night, thanks to a stoppage-time goal. The next day, the main though on the majority of Caps fans’ minds is whether left back Ali Adnan will be suiting up for Vancouver next Saturday, against LAFC.

Ali Adnan’s loan is set to expire at midnight tonight and there are a lot of questions as to whether he will finish the season with the Caps, or even better stay on permanently. However, I was just as surprised to see some fans stating that we need to stop discussing Adnan and that it is a waste of money/time. For example...

In my opinion, the Caps need to do almost anything to keep Adnan. There is within reason. I don’t think that he should be a DP but I am fine if they need to make him a TAM player. Why? For several reasons. First, and most importantly, if Adnan leaves the (only) option is Levis. I have no problem with Levis. I think he is serviceable...as a backup. They clearly cannot go forward with Levis as the primary option. Therefore, they will need to bring in someone. This leads to reason number two: The known is better than the unknown. The Caps KNOW what they have in Adnan and that is pretty good. You could make the argument that he is the best left WINGback in Major League Soccer. Could the Caps do better than Adnan? Definitely. Are they most likely to do worse? For sure. Will that poorer player cost similar? Likely. Third, Adnan works well with what Marc Dos Santos is wanting to do. I would not feel confident with Adnan as a left back, but I DO feel confident with him as a wingback. On multiple occasions I have complained about Adnan’s lack of defensive hustle and poor defending. As a wingback he would still have defensive responsibilities and it would be important that he supported the back line, but he could focus more on getting forward and teaming up with his bff Hwang. I believe that MDS’ plan is to have Henry, Godoy, and Khmiri as his back three, flanked by Adnan and Sutter/Nerwinski (for now). He has Erice in front to guard the back three and assist when needed. Adnan fits into this lineup/role good. Like REALLY good!

The Caps need many pieces, and certainly left back is not the priority. If getting Adnan meant that Vancouver did not address their wings or striker (to pair with Reyna) then I guess I take Levis, however, I don’t feel it is an either/or. At least, it SHOULDN’T be. Look, I understand that we are all pessimistic and have evidence that this club will not spend money, so it feels like an either/or situation, but that can’t be the case going forward. Adnan is currently making $550k. That is a LOT for a left back, but for his calibre, I am okay with that. Give me a couple of good wingers at similar rates and get a good striker, at a DP level and the club is in a good place. The Caps have a stockpile of funny money and real money from Davies that they MUST spend on their roster (at least the Davies money), let’s have that start with Adnan and go from there.

What are your thoughts? Will Adnan be in LA next weekend? Should he be? What is too high of price for you? Let us know your thoughts.