Report: Turkish club Besiktas interested in acquiring Whitecaps' Alphonso Davies

Jun 10 2018, 6:30 am

Alphonso Davies is starting to come into his own as a star with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The question is, for how long?

Davies had the best game of his MLS career for the Whitecaps in Saturday’s 5-2 thrashing of Orlando City. The 17-year-old Canadian terrorized Orlando’s defence all evening, scoring a goal and adding a club-record three assists.

But while Whitecaps fans are falling in love with the speedy midfielder, we may just be one game closer to the end of the Alphonso era in Vancouver.

Davies, who is eligible to be transferred once he turns 18 in November, has reportedly garnered interest from Besiktas, a club that is also home to Canadians Cyle Larin and Atiba Hutchinson, in the top league in Turkey.

Davies has been a phenomenon for the Whitecaps over the past couple of years. Making his professional debut in April 2016, he became the youngest ever player to score in the United Soccer League when he was just 15 years old.

His rapid development and prodigious talent elevated him to the Whitecaps’ senior squad at 15, playing in Voyageurs Cup and CONCACAF Champions League matches. He became the youngest player to ever score a goal for the Canadian men’s national team, when he burst onto the international scene at the Gold Cup last year.

He was a full-time member of the Whitecaps’ first team at age 16, and became the 10th-youngest player to ever score an MLS goal this year as a 17-year-old.

“Alphonso is our player. And I’m delighted to call him our player, because he’s got a big future at this football club,” said head coach Carl Robinson in January. “What I cannot answer to you is whether he will be here for 10 years, unfortunately.”

Besiktas is just the latest European club to have shown interest in the teenager.

“Listen, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, they’ve all shown interest,” Robinson admitted. “They’ve all looked at him.”

Davies is not the first Whitecaps youngster to be linked to a European club. Kekuta Manneh caught the eye of a few clubs in England back in 2013, when his stock was still on the rise as an 18-year-old.

But while Manneh’s career stalled, Davies continues to flourish.

Davies has started more than a dozen times for the Whitecaps this season recording two goals and five assists through 16 matches. Beyond his numbers, the speed, skill, and poise for a player of his age continues to impress.

If he keeps it up, it won’t be long before Davies moves on to bigger and better things.

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