Whitecaps loan Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe to Brighton and Hove Albion
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VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe to Brighton and Hove Albion of the English Championship through June 2017, the club announced Friday.
The 21-year-old from Calgary was born in London and returns to England with a side that came agonizingly close to Premier League promotion last season.
Brighton finished third in the second-tier Championship in 2015-16, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by virtue of goal difference before falling in the playoff semifinals.
“We continue to look for ways for our young players to develop and this will be a great opportunity for Sam,” Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson said in a statement. “We’ll be tracking his progress closely while on loan as he remains an important member of our club.”
Brighton said in a separate release that Adekugbe would begin the season, which gets underway next month, with club’s under-21 squad.
Adekugbe joined the Whitecaps’ residency program in September 2011 and was signed to Vancouver’s Major League Soccer roster in August 2013.
The five-foot-11 left back made four first-team appearances this season, including two in the Amway Canadian Championship.
Adekugbe has taken part in three training stints with British clubs in recent years, including one with Brighton in December 2015.
“We know all about Sam and his qualities from his time with us,” Brighton manager Chris Hughton told the club’s official website. “His challenge, along with others, is to make that step up into the first-team squad.”
In total, Adekugbe has started 18 of 25 first team appearances across all competitions for Vancouver and has earned three Canadian senior international caps.
The Canadian Press
©2016 The Canadian Press
