The New England Revolution traded forward Kei Kamara to the Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for Vancouver’s 2019 first-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft and conditional 2020 second-round pick.
Conditions on the trade include that if he moves to another MLS team before the 2018 roster freeze, the Revolution will receive the second-round pick and if he transfers outside the MLS, the two clubs will evenly split his transfer fee.
This trade comes after many rumors linking the Sierra Leon forward to a move elsewhere throughout the last week. Vancouver was one of the names that came up frequently when discussing Kamara’s possible destination.
Fans were confused when the club elected to pick up the 33-year-old’s contract option in the offseason despite his lackluster tenure with the club, which lead many to speculate that the Revolution were looking to trade him.
This trade shows that the Revolution are clearly looking to build their team through the draft and that the team is taking a whole new direction under new head coach Brad Friedel. The Revolution have the number eight and nine picks in the upcoming 2018 MLS SuperDraft. With the acquisition of the Whitecaps 2019 first round pick, Friedel is clearly looking to try to add more young talent to the team via the draft.
Kamara departs the Revolution after arriving in a blockbuster deal in 2016 which sent the Revolution’s 2017 first round pick, their 2018 second round pick, and cash to the Columbus Crew. Kamara scored 19 goals over his two seasons with the Revolution, and never truly lived up to the hype.
With Kamara departing, the Revolution now have an open designated player spot.
