Carlos Vela went from hat trick hero on MLS is Back weekend, winning Week 1 Player of the Week honors, to here we go again when the LAFC star left at halftime of Sunday’s 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers with an undisclosed knock.
New LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo said Vela was taken off as a precaution, but it’s understandable if alarm bells start sounding given the forward’s battles with injuries over the last two seasons.
Adding to the intrigue is how Vela’s contract expires this summer. It seemed a no-brainer a week ago that LAFC should extend his deal. But is that as clear-cut now, with a caveat of not fully knowing if he can shake these injury troubles?
That’s one of the topics discussed on the latest episode of Extratime, with opinions differing.
Calen Carr is surprised this is even a question, given Vela’s impact on the game – when healthy. He has 60 goals in 88 regular-season games and set an MLS record with 34 goals and 15 assists in a Golden Boot presented by Audi campaign in 2019.
“Last week we were literally talking about Carlos Vela setting his own economy, creating his own currency, creating his own CBA and we were all saying give it to him. Now he comes off at halftime and we’re coming back the next week like ‘It might be smarter to kinda let this walk away,'” Carr said. “No. He came off at halftime, we don’t know how serious the injury is. But from my perspective, if Carlos Vela wants to play for your club and you are able to make that type of signing, you make that 10 out of 10 times.”
While Carr is pumping the brakes on Vela out, David Gass said he’d prefer a more cautious approach to a contract extension.
“My dream scenario would be to extend him to the end of this season and not make another decision past that and try to get him to play out at a championship level, which he said he’s committed to, while he's playing for another contract with his next team,” Gass said, rationalizing Vela would need something to platform off of for his next contract.
Wherever you fall in the debate, co-host Andrew Wiebe noted it's remarkable to see how quickly the conversation can change around the 33-year-old Mexican superstar. LAFC currently have one open Designated Player spot, and Vela's potential departure would give them two alongside forward Brian Rodriguez.
"After a game he scored three goals, it's really easy to be like 'Yeah man, give this man a two-year deal right now. Let's go, pony it up'," Wiebe said.
For more on this debate and others, check out the latest edition of Extratime.
