Valour sends top goalkeeper to Ottawa

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This article was published 12/02/2024 (631 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VALOUR FC head coach Philip Dos Santos feels he has improved his club, even though he’s saying goodbye to one of his best players.

Winnipeg’s pro soccer squad dealt goalkeeper Rayane Yesli, 24, to Atlético Ottawa for midfielder Noah Verhoeven along with financial terms that were not disclosed Friday.

In a corresponding move, the club signed Canadian keeper Jonathan Viscosi.

The player moves had been in the works for months, Dos Santos said.

“Things come up in the offseason in ways where when trades happen they’re never just something that crosses your mind overnight and you wake up and you decide to do a move like that,” Dos Santos said. “Noah was a player that I wanted to see if there was a possibility for us to get and when you get a good player, it happens that you might need to give a good player.

“This was a long process. It’s something that we had to think about a lot, we had to assess what would it mean in the big picture and, the truth is, today when I woke up, I felt that the team was better with the addition of Jonathan Viscosi and Noah Verhoeven than it was with Rayane alone.”

Yesli signed with Valour in 2022 after being selected third overall in the 2021 Canadian Premier League U Sports Draft. He split time in the crease during his rookie year before taking full command of the starting role last summer.

The Canadian keeper was often the lone bright spot in a dark season for Valour, registering seven clean sheets and conceding just 35 goals over 26 appearances — earning him a nomination for the CPL’s goalkeeper-of-the-year award.

The deal continued what is expected to be a major overhaul in personnel for Valour this off-season, coming off a dismal 6-8-14 record and last-place finish in the Canadian Premier League in 2023.

The club publicly announced following last season that 12 players won’t return for Winnipeg this summer, notably, captain Andrew Jean-Baptiste, left-back Matteo de Brienne and midfielder Diego Gutierrez — all leaders on and off the pitch.

Verhoeven, 24, was officially loaned to Valour by Atlético Ottawa, for which he made 27 appearances in 2023, registering one goal and two assists.

The Canadian midfielder brings CPL experience to the club, having played in 111 contests with three different clubs since 2019 (Pacific FC, York United FC and Atlético Ottawa).

“Noah was a player that we wanted. We felt that with the departure of (Gutierrez), it was important to bring a midfielder that had — and I’ll say it with respect — similar qualities in the ability to keep the team on the ball and get us out of pressure,” Dos Santos said.

Viscosi, 32, played for Vaasan Palloseura of the Finnish First Tier where he made eight appearances and conceded five goals last season. He’ll bring a wealth of experience to the club with 153 professional appearances over a decade-long career.

“Jonathan is a goalkeeper that we always followed. It was never the right time for him to come back to Canada but he’s someone that we liked, we like what he brings to the table,” Dos Santos said.

Valour opens training camp on Feb. 20 and begins the season on the road against Vancouver FC on Apr. 14.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

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