On Monday morning, the Vancouver Whitecaps made a deal.
Tom Bogert of The Athletic reported that the Whitecaps traded first and third-round draft picks, $150,000 in General Allocation Money and sell on clause for midfielder Ralph Priso
The deal was announced on Tuesday morning. It was also revealed that the $150,000 in GAM was conditional and the first-round pick will be the latter of Vancouver’s or LAFC’s first-round pick. The LAFC pick was acquired in the Maxime Crépeau trade in January of 2022.
Priso is a midfielder who can play defensive or box-to-box. The 21-year-old originally came out of the Toronto FC academy. He made his debut for the first team on October 24, 2020, against the Philadelphia Union.
On July 8, 2022, Priso was traded to the Colorado Rapids for fellow Canadian Mark-Anthony Kaye and 1.025 in General Allocation Money. He played 26 games and started 11 of them in 2023. Unfortunately, the Rapids finished second last in MLS only above…Toronto FC.
Giving up that much GAM and two draft picks for a 21-year-old is risky. But this shows the Whitecaps are really betting on him to reach his potential and help them towards a deep playoff run. As for Priso, a fresh start is what he needed.
What can Priso do?
Priso is first and foremost a tackler. Don’t expect him to score goals. He is a player whose job is to win the ball back.
His underlying numbers from the past year aren’t the greatest. Sure, it shows he hasn’t been in the best form but keep in mind, he was on a very bad Rapids team.
Priso’s numbers over the past three years show some promise.
Expect him to do a lot of tackling, running around and short passing. At Colorado and TFC, that’s what he mostly did.
Where can Priso fit in the Whitecaps’ lineup?
Priso right now is midfield depth. He could potentially be more. Priso as of now, is the third string to Andres Cubas and Sebastian Berhalter. If Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini decides to go back to the double pivot, Priso can play with Cubas or Berhalter. He could also be a backup to Alessandro Schöpf and play the box-to-box role if needed.
Pedro Vite has been growing as a player with the Whitecaps over the past year. If he continues to grow to new heights with them, his days as a Whitecap might not be long. Perhaps a team in Europe comes calling for him sooner or later. Priso could potentially be a replacement for Vite in the long term.
It will be interesting to see what Priso can do with the Whitecaps. There is still lots of room for growth. For now, his job is to provide depth. He is on a better team now and deserves to get minutes in order to prove he can reach his potential.