The Vancouver Whitecaps needed a striker to compete with Brian White. When White missed some time with injury last season, they needed someone who can get the job done in his absence. Unfortunately, Levonte Johnson and Damir Kreilach weren’t those guys.
White is one of the MLS’ most clinical strikers. He’s coming off back to back 15 goals regular seasons. White was among the league leaders in goals in 2023 and 2024.
However, it seems the Whitecaps have found their backup striker to compete with White. As Manuel Veth of Transfermarkt first reported on Bluesky, Vancouver signed Daniel Rios on loan from Chivas de Guadalajara in Liga MX.
Rios has MLS experience
The 29-year-old striker has years of MLS experience under his belt.
Last season he was on loan with Atlanta United and managed to get seven goals and three assists in MLS play. In all competitions, he scored 10 goals and tallied four assists.
The Mexican striker came up through the Chivas academy but spent the first few years of his professional career on loan with Coras and Zapatepec in the Mexican lower tiers and North Carolina FC in the USL Championship. Rios was the first ever signing by Nashville SC, who began play in 2020.
In the Music City, Rios managed to score five goals in 30 MLS matches in 2020 and 2021. Before the 2022 season, Nashville traded Rios to expansion side Charlotte FC. In 27 MLS games with Charlotte in 2022, Rios managed seven goals.
However, he made history. In October of 2022, Rios became the first player in Charlotte FC’s history to score a hat trick in a 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Union.
After the 2022 season, Rios returned to Guadalajara. However, he still didn’t get a ton of minutes in his native country. In the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Liga MX’s seasons, Rios only played 612 minutes. As a result, he was loaned to Atlanta United. Atlanta was a team that lost Thiago Almada and Giorgios Giakoumakis and looked like they would miss the playoffs. However, they snuck in via the wild card round and beat CF Montreal and shockingly upset Inter Miami before falling to Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.
Chivas sent Rios out on loan loan once again, this time to Vancouver. The ‘Caps made it official on Monday morning. It also looks like there is an option to buy.
What is Rios like? How does he fit in with the Whitecaps?
I had a chance to chat with Sydney Hunte. He covers Atlanta United for Scarves and Spikes. That is a website and podcast dedicated to covering Atlanta United. Hunte saw a lot of Rios and gave some good insight.
“I don’t think he’ll thrive in a fast-paced attack but rather a more methodical one,” Hunte told me. “He’s not the most pacy or skilled player but he’s certainly more technical. So he was a little bit of a polarizing player in Atlanta and probably was judged a bit unfairly after Giakoumakis went to Cruz Azul. He did score seven goals so there was at least some production, though, and he always seemed to give maximum effort whenever he stepped on the field. I think in the right tactical setting he can succeed, so hopefully (Whitecaps head coach Jesper) Sørensen can get the most out of him.”
Here are some highlights of Rios from last season.
There are a lot of similarities to White from Rios. For starters, both aren’t fast or physical. However, both Rios and White are poachers. The differances are that Rios is taller than White (6’1″ vs 5’11”) and looks a bit more technical. Rios however, is a much better passer and creator than White.
Like White, Rios is also quite good at winning aerial battles and scoring goals with his head. According to the highlight package, it seems he does miss sitters. It looks like Rios is a striker with an eye for goal and has a bit of creativity.
The underlying numbers courtesy of Football Reference really favour Rios especially in passing. What is interesting is that he is in the 86th percentile in blocks.
Throughout his time in MLS, Rios has averaged 0.40 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes.
The Whitecaps are getting a poacher with good aerial ability and a player who is a decent passer. Rios will defiently be a player that will be relied upon off the bench.
In Sørensen’s posession-based system, it seems Rios is suited for it. The Danish head coach likes a controlled type of play and that seems to suit Rios more. That way, he can use his poaching abilities and wait for a chance to put the ball in the back of the net.
This seems like a decent signing for the Whitecaps. It is a loan but they are getting a striker with MLS experience and is a great poacher. It looks like they got the backup striker they needed.
What do the Whitecaps need next?
With Stuart Armstrong now at Sheffield Wednesday, the Whitecaps need a replacement for him in the midfield. Luckily, Veth has reported that they are actively looking.
Vancouver also does need another wide forward. They already have new signings Emmanuel Sabbi and Jayden Nelson and of course, Ryan Gauld. With Deiber Caicedo leaving for Junior permanently and Fafa Picault now with Inter Miami, it wouldn’t be surprising if they use a U22 spot on another wide forward.
Given Veth’s report, it seems the Whitecaps will stick with the three Designated Players and three U22 spots.
