Jamaican Midfielder Andre Lewis delighted for Vancouver Whitecaps transfer
Former St. Georges College midfielder Andre Lewis is settling in well at his new club Vancouver Whitecaps.
Lewis, who was selected with the 7th pick of last month’s MLS SuperDraft, left the island on Thursday to join up with his new team which also includes another Jamaican, Darren Mattocks.
The 19 year old participated in his first field training session on Friday and said he was praying every day for his Canadian visa and work permit to go through so he could make the move to Vancouver and join his new team.
“I was excited from the day I got drafted by Vancouver and until now the day I’m here … I’m still excited,” Lewis told reporters. “Everyone is great. Everyone welcomed me like a family on the first day. I love it already.”
First and foremost, Lewis said he just wants to make the team and help the ‘Caps qualify for the playoffs this season. At 5-foot-9, 145 pounds, he knows playing in MLS will be an adjustment, but he’s prepared to put in the necessary work to make the next step in his career.
“I have to work with the trainer, listen to the coaches, go to the gym and get accustomed to it,” he said. “Everything takes time. No one knows. I just have to come into training and impress the coaches.”
The ‘Caps wrapped up their first week of preseason training with their annual fitness tests on Friday, before heading off to Arizona on Monday for a 10-day camp at Grande Sports World.
Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson in giving his assessment of Lewis said ““He reminds me a lot of Kekuta Manneh who we picked in the draft last year. He had something special, and I saw that in Andre. I was a little bit weary that at seven, he might get picked up before. We took a chance on him. I think he’s got a fantastic football brain. He’s got a fantastic understanding of the game for someone so young and he was a prospect that we wanted to make sure we got on board.”
If you like this article please consider joining our Forum HERE to help us grow.
Remember to share this article on Facebook and other Social Media Platforms. To submit your own articles please send us an EMAIL at: [email protected]. Subscribe to our mailing list to get new articles sent to you automatically.