TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Loan
The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned midfielder Simon Colyn to Italian club SPAL, the club announced Monday. The loan is through June 2021 and SPAL have an option to extend the loan as well as to acquire the player permanently.
Colyn had been on loan with SPAL since September 25.
“We have an open process with all of our promising prospects and regularly evaluate what is the best platform to help them grow,” sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster said in a club statement. “Currently, we don’t have a development team playing at the level Simon needs. This loan at SPAL will provide that opportunity, as well as a path for the next steps in his development towards being an option for our first team.”
Colyn, 18, signed his Homegrown deal in 2018 and made his MLS debut as a substitute on Decision Day that same year but hasn't featured since. He has played for Canada at the U-15 and U-17 levels, scoring one goal in four appearances for the U-17s.
SPAL currently play in Serie B, the second tier of professional soccer in Italy. They were relegated from Serie A last season. Monday is the transfer deadline day in Italy and much of Europe, but sources expect the deal to be completed in time.
Colyn will join the club's U-19 side to start. The club's U-19 side are in the top youth division in Italy, alongside the U-19 outfits for Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and more.
