It is more a case of recognition than regret anytime a club moves a player up to a higher league. After all, that’s what it’s all about. Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League has now apparently done it twice this off-season.
Kadin Chung will join fellow original three-season PFC defender Lukas MacNaughton in signing with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, according to John Molinaro of the TFC Republic website.
Neither Toronto FC nor PFC have confirmed the report, but Chung has been at Toronto FC’s training camp. Rob Friend, the CEO and GM of Pacific FC, said he could not comment.
According to Tranfermarkt, PFC received a transfer fee of $175,000 for MacNaughton, in a deal that was finalized in January.
Chung, the 23-year-old New Westminster native, was the first player signed by PFC in club history, returning to his home province in 2019 from Kaiserslautern II in Germany. The former Canada U-17 and U-20 player was named to the Canadian Olympic team U-23 provisional roster for the Tokyo Olympics. He began his pro career with Vancouver Whitecaps II and appeared in 57 games for PFC with two goals over three CPL seasons as an understated by wholly reliable, forward-moving fullback. Tranfermarkt lists his current market value at $220,000.
The Tridents, meanwhile, announced the return of dependable defender Jordan Haynes, one of the anchors of the defence last season with 29 appearances and 2,179 minutes played. The 26-year-old played for Canada in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 2015 CONCACAF U-20 championship.
The defending CPL-champion Tridents also announced the signing of 19-year-old striker Abdul Wahid Binate of Laval, Que., out of the MLS U-23 academy of CF Montreal, described by head coach James Merriman as “physically powerful for his age with good potential.” The Tridents this week also announced the re-signing of promising attacker Matteo Polisi of Coquitlam, who had three goals and an assist in 22 games last season.
The final Tridents signing announced this week was six-foot-three former Dutch youth international Djenario Daniels, a 20-year-old who came up in the academy systems of Almere City and PSV Eindhoven. He has played for Utrecht with the reserve team in the second division Eerste Divisie and on loan last season with Sassuolo in Italy.
PFC, which opens April 10 at Starlight Stadium against fellow CPL power Forge FC of Hamilton, now has 14 players under contract for 2022.
