VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps traded veteran goalkeeper David Ousted to D.C. United on Monday, hours after transferring Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe to Valerenga Fotball of Norway's top division.
Neither move came as a shock, with both players having fallen out of favour with the Major League Soccer club.
The deal for Ousted sees Vancouver get the 26th pick in this month's MLS SuperDraft. United announced that the Dane, who will turn 33 on Feb. 1, has agreed to a new two-year contract.
Ousted spent five seasons with the Whitecaps after joining the club as a free agent in June 2013, going 58-53-39 in his 151 starts.
He had 43 shutouts in 145 MLS appearances, but lost the starting job towards the tail end of the 2017 to New Zealand international Stefan Marinovic.
After the Whitecaps were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Seattle Sounders, Ousted said he was told in June that Vancouver wouldn't be picking up the option on his contract following his refusal to take a pay cut on his salary of nearly US$380,000.
"I'm disappointed, especially with the last couple of months," Ousted said in November. "It's the business part of this game."
The Whitecaps said that should Ousted be traded to another MLS team prior to the 2018 roster freeze, they will receive $100,000 in general allocation money.
Vancouver also gets 50 per cent of any future transfer fees.
Along with Marinovic, the Whitecaps acquired 'keeper Brian Rowe from the Los Angeles Galaxy last month for a 2018 second-round pick.
"We are thankful to David for his five seasons in Vancouver," head coach Carl Robinson said in a statement. "We're happy that we were able to help David move into a situation that was attractive for him and his family."
Adekugbe, 22, spent five years with the Whitecaps, making 16 starts in 23 appearances across all competitions after graduating from the residency program and signing with the first team as a homegrown player in August 2013.
The Calgary product, who was born in England, was initially seen as a long-term solution at left back with Vancouver, but after some early flashes was unable to unseat the recently departed Jordan Harvey because of injuries and a drop in form.
Adekugbe spent the last two years of his time with the Whitecaps on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, which was then competing in the English Football League Championship, and most recently with Sweden's IFK Goteborg.
The Whitecaps currently have Canadian international Marcel de Jong and Saskatoon's Brett Levis, who is coming off a serious knee injury, pencilled in as options at left back heading into the 2018 season.
"We are thankful to Sam for his contributions to the club," Robinson said in a separate statement. "This is a good opportunity for Sam and we wish him all the best as he continues his career."
As part of the agreement with the Norwegian club, Vancouver will receive a percentage of any future transfer fees for Adekugbe, who has made six senior international appearances for Canada.
The Whitecaps open pre-season training later this month, with their first MLS match set for March 4 at home against the Montreal Impact.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
