By Canadian Press

New Whitecaps signings Adekugbe, Laryea shift focus to MLS playoff push

Aug 9, 2023 | 3:42 PM

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps unveiled their two, new high-profile signings on Wednesday, with the message from both clear: the aim is to win and do so starting soon.

Canadian national team wingbacks Sam Adekugbe and Richie Laryea spoke to the media in an introductory press conference for the first time since signing with Vancouver last week.

“Football is about winning games. It’s not about enjoying it and being comfortable. If we don’t have that expectation for ourselves, then we’re wasting our time,” said Adekugbe.

His new domestic teammate, and close friend, agreed.

“I want to compete, I want to win, this group can do it,” Laryea said. “This group has a lot of quality. To add Sam, to add myself into this group with a lot of quality … I think the bar for this group is set high, for myself it’s set high. There’s no doubt in my mind this team can make a run in the playoffs and go to the MLS Cup.”

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Laryea has signed on loan till Dec. 31 from English Premier League club Nottingham Forest.

He played in 18 games for Toronto FC this season until his loan from Forest expired on June 30. 

When asked if he would be interested in a permanent transfer after a lack of stability earlier in his career, Laryea said he was taking it day-by-day.

The pair said they had spoken with each other about their prospective moves to the Whitecaps and ran their decisions to join by each other.

The answer, Adekugbe said, was the same.

“I called Richie, he was calling me. He was like ‘are you going?’ I was like ‘yeah, are you going? and he went ‘yeah’ and here we are,” Adekugbe said.

Adekugbe, 28, was signed from Turkish club Hatayspor for an undisclosed fee. 

His MLS contract runs through 2026 and includes a club option for 2027. Adekugbe joined Hatayspor in 2021 and made 53 starts for the club across all competitions. 

He spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan to Turkish side Galatasaray, where he won a Super Lig championship title.

Adekugbe said he and the Whitecaps had tried to reach a deal during the last transfer window but he wasn’t able to come to an agreement with his former club.

He came up through the Whitecaps U-23 program and left in 2017 after loan moves to Brighton and IFK Goteborg.

“I’ve become more mature. When I was here, I was a young kid. The Whitecaps gave me everything but I think I took advantage of it,” Adekugbe said, adding that living abroad for seven years has exposed him to a range of learning experiences.

Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini has maintained throughout the season that his squad has the quality to make the MLS playoffs, even when results haven’t gone their way.

These signings, he said, emphasize the club’s desire for success.

“This move by the club gave everyone starting from me to the staff to the other players more responsibility because we see how the club invested in improving the team and giving us all the tools to become a real contender and a team that can go and try to win every game,” Sartini said.

Sartini said he wasn’t yet sure when the two players would make their debut for the club, due to being at different stages in their club seasons when they signed.

The Whitecaps return to action on Aug. 20 at B.C. Place against the San Jose Earthquakes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2023.

Nick Wells, The Canadian Press