TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
The Vancouver Whitecaps have signed Simon Becher from MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Whitecaps FC 2 to a contract through the 2023 season, the club announced Thursday.
The one-year deal for the 23-year-old forward includes options for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
“Simon joined us from the SuperDraft last January and is another example of how important it is to have our MLS NEXT Pro team as part of our path to the first team,” Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster said in a press release. “Throughout his first year at the club, Simon showed us he has the qualities that we look for in a player both on and off the pitch. We are excited for him to make the next step and continue to grow in his young career."
Vancouver's first pick (16th overall) in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, Becher was Whitecaps FC 2's top scorer last season with eight goals, adding four assists over 22 appearances. He's already found the scoresheet in MLS, netting a goal in his first-team debut, which saw him make an eight-minute cameo in a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 5.
The Brooklyn, Connecticut native also has US youth national team experience, participating in three camps, including a U-20 camp in 2019.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, a culmination of a lot of hard work and sacrifice,” Becher said. “I’m so grateful for my family, friends, teammates and coaches that supported me. To stay in Vancouver makes it all the sweeter, this club is building something special here.”
Thursday's signing came a day after Vancouver promoted winger Ali Ahmed from Whitecaps FC 2.
READ MORE: MLS Transfer Tracker presented by Avant
