AMSTERDAM – Canada target forward Rob Friend is negotiating his release from German side Eintracht Frankfurt in order to make an already agreed-upon move to the Vancouver Whitecaps, MLSsoccer.com has learned.
According to sources close to the negotiations, the 31-year-old Saskatchewan native will be allowed to leave the promoted Bundesliga side on a free transfer once the final details of his contract dissolution are sorted.
The Whitecaps on Tuesday told MLSsoccer.com that "there is interest and some discussions" in the Canadian national teamer, but declined to comment further. Head coach Martin Rennie told The Province on Monday that Friend "is a Canadian player that we do like and if it was possible, we’d definitely be interested."
READ: Who got called into Canadian national team camp vs. USA?
The 6-foot-5 Friend has yet to appear this season for Eintracht, currently in fourth place in the German top flight. Last season, he was limited by injury troubles to one goal in 13 games as Eintracht earned promotion.
If the move is completed, Vancouver would be the first homeland port of call for Friend, originally a fourth-round SuperDraft pick by the Chicago Fire in 2003. Instead, he joined Norwegian outfit Moss, and subsequently suited up for Molde FK, Heerenveen, Heracles, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hertha Berlin before moving to Frankfurt.
In all, Friend has netted 72 goals in 244 European contests. He has also hit twice in 32 caps for Canada.
