The blockbuster trade that sent Jeremy Ebobisse from the Portland Timbers to the San Jose Earthquakes was one of the biggest moves of the Secondary Transfer Window.
The Quakes sent $1.167 million in General Allocation Money to get the forward they need; the Timbers got a strong return for the 24-year-old; and Ebobisse, who reportedly will sign a new deal with the Quakes, should get regular minutes at the No. 9 spot he covets.
So, who won the trade? That topic was debated on the latest episode of Extratime between co-hosts Andrew Wiebe, Charlie Davies and David Gass.
Davies believes the Timbers are the clear winner since they “never valued Jeremy Ebobisse up top.”
“It made sense to deal him and I think they got great value for Jeremy Ebobisse,” Davies said. “In the end, I think Portland will win if they can use that to get someone who will make them stronger and better in the end because they’re a better team.”
Gass went with the flip-side of that debate, saying the Timbers not playing Ebobisse at forward and “getting rid of a young domestic player at a time when their roster is aging and they’re pretty heavy with international players,” is what makes them the loser in the trade.
“The question of how the Portland Timbers move forward? The answer was Jeremy Ebobisse and Eryk Williamson. That was your core that you could then continue to build whether it’s DP signings or whatever,” Gass said, adding, “this is how you build a roster successfully long-term in MLS, but I shouldn’t be saying that because the Timbers have built one of the most competitive teams for the last eight years consistently, so I agree with you that it's a win for all.”
Gass said the relatively large allocation sum wasn't a big deal for the Quakes since they’ve “transferred one player in from outside this league on a permanent deal in the last two transfer windows.” He also wondered if the change of scenery could benefit Ebobisse the way it did Gyasi Zardes when he went to the Columbus Crew from the LA Galaxy.
Wiebe sees benefits for all sides, creating a win-win-win and an especially good piece of business from the Quakes.
“They have been getting the opposite of sure things under Matias Almeyda for a while now. Their signings have not been, let’s just say universally productive – I’ll be kind in that way,” Wiebe said. “But now you have Jeremy Ebobisse with [Cristian\] Espinoza, who is a better creator, a better crosser than he is a finisher, you have Cade Cowell on the other side who can kind of at times, especially during the [international] break, push into a more two-striker system with him, but can beat players 1-v-1, get the ball into him in places where he can finish.”
Watch the entire Extratime episode here.
