August 12th Edition

Another week, and more Canadians are on the move across Europe ahead of what is proving to be a can’t-miss season for Canucks Abroad.

Owujo is a Red Devil, Millar has joined Hull City, and even at home there were some headlining moves as a young star switched sides of the Canadian Classique.

Plus, the Whitecaps Girls Elite are set to rep Canada in Concacaf, and the latest on a whole bunch of Canadian transfers and rumours ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

In this week's edition:

• 👹 Awujo to Manchester United

• 🌊 'Caps Girls are back-to-back champs

• 🔵 Marshall-Rutty switches sides

• 🌍 Canucks Abroad

• 📰 Other News

• 📺 Games of the week

• ✅ Northern Picks

CanWNT

👹 Awujo to Manchester United

With all due respect to all the other Canadians who have moved to new clubs over this transfer window, nothing has quite compared to Friday’s blockbuster which saw CanWNT midfielder Simi Awujo sign with Manchester United.

Following a fantastic Olympic performance, the 20-year-old midfielder is leaving school, where she played in NCAA with the USC Trojans — to sign with a far more storied red and yellow outfit. The Atlanta-born Awujo spent three seasons with the Trojans, making 49 appearances with four goals and seven assists.

She will join CanWNT teammate Jayde Riviere with The Red Devils, who has been with the FA WSL club since 2023. United finished a disappointing fifth in the league last year, but did win the FA Cup.

Following her debut with the Canadian senior team in 2022, Awujo has now played 20 times for CanWNT, scoring once. She initially represented the United States at the U-17 level, but switched to Canada in 2022.

Having yet another Canadian baller at the top level will only serve to increase the talents of Awujo, who is already a blossoming star with the national team. The future is incredibly bright for Awujo, and Manchester United just got a star in the making.

League1 Canada

🌊 Whitecaps FC Girls Elite are back-to-back League1 Canada champs

A Kaylee Hunter brace helped the Vancouver Whitecaps Elite to their second consecutive League1 Canada interprovincial championship at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on Sunday.

The Whitecaps defeated CS Mont-Royal Outremont 3-2 on penalties after the match was tied 2-2 after 90 minutes.

The ‘Caps baller helped her side come back twice in the match, after Anais Oularbim and Joëlle Gosselin had scored for CSMO.

This was the third edition of the Interprovincial championship, with A.S. Blainville winning the inaugural tournament in 2022.

Earlier in the day, League1 Ontario champions NDC Ontario defeated League1 Alberta’s Calgary Blizzard 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Adriana Blanchin to claim third place.

It was announced earlier in the week that the winner of the competition will represent Canada in the 2025-26 Concacaf W Championship. This will also mean back-to-back appearances in continental competition for the Whitecaps Elite.

They are now off to El Salvador to represent Canada in the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup — facing Alianza in the preliminary round on Thursday, August 15.

Should they win, they would get an incredible opportunity, joining the competition’s Group B which would mean getting to face Panamain club Santa Fé, Club América, and perhaps most enticingly, Kailen Sheridan and Mya Jones’ San Diego Wave as well as Janine Beckie, Jessie Fleming and Christine Sinclair’s Portland Thorns.

MLS

🔵 Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty switches sides in the Canadian Classique

CF Montréal has done it again. Somehow, the club with so much drama surrounding budget and recruitment have pulled off impressive transfers this season. The biggest surprise came on Friday morning with the announcement in the signing of Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty.

In a post-Olivier Renard era, MTL has had a very positive transfer season. Now, they top their transfer saga with two new signings: Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Caden Clark. Both top rated young Canadian ballers with high ceilings.

For TFC fans, the loss of Marshall-Rutty comes as a shock, especially losing a talented academy player to their arch-nemesis. With Bleu-Blanc-Noir's emphasis on building play on the wing, the club’s style will complement Jahkeele’s play style. CFM have a record of producing talent with the intent of selling to Europe, so for any young Canadian, a club with a path to Europe is a highly attractive move.

At the end of the day, it’s about game time, and Jahkeele is looking for it. The 20-year-old youngster was competing with established senior players Bernadeschi and Richie Laryea at the same position — a tough spot be in. However, MTL have signed four wingbacks this season with Ruan, Raheem Edwards, Tom Pearce and Dawid Bugaj, with the latter two joining a few weeks ago. As Laurent Courtois likes to rotate his wingbacks, perhaps he intends to make Jahkeele into a winger.

Caden Clark has been touted as a revelation since going pro with NYRB in 2020. After spending short spells in Europe, he would likely be looking to return.

In the Nancy era, CFM exported three players to Europe: Koné to Watford, Alistair Johnston to Celtic and Djordje Milhailovic to AZ Alkmaar. All the transfers brought in a lot of money and has positioned the club as a source of talent for European clubs. Like the city itself, CF Montréal has become a pipeline to Europe. While MTL supporters are delighted, they know they may not stay for long.

But wait, there’s more. Rida Zouhir and Ilias Iliadis have been loaned out again. Same story as last year. Due to a lack of game time, both midfielders are in need for more minutes. Zouhir returns to the USL Championship and has been loaned out to Birmingham Legion FC. Last time in the USL, Zouhir made a name for himself with San Antonio and impressed the league. He’s hoping to ball out again.

Ilias Iliadis shares a similar story. He spent the season with Atletico Ottawa and became a vital component of the club. With the lack of ball time in MTL, the Toronto-born midfielder returns to Ottawa on loan.

Canucks Abroad

🌍 Canucks Abroad

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Junior Hoilett signed with Hibernian. The Canadian winger is staying put in Scotland and has signed a one-year deal with the Edinburgh club. Hoilett is looking to impress with the Hibs and regain form after suffering an injury just before Copa America.

🇵🇹 Stephen Eustaquio contributes and assists in picking up Supertaça. It’s that time of the year with the annual pre-season Super Cup games kicking off. Porto faced CP Lisbon in Portugal, and it was an eventful game. Porto were down 3-0 but ended the game with a win at 4-3. Stephen Eustaquio came off the bench in the 64th minute and assisted Porto’s equalizing goal in the 66th minute. Staqs would go on and pick up his seventh trophy with Porto.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ike Ugbo joined Sheffield Wednesday. We should specify that Ugbo has rejoined the Owls on a permanent move for an undisclosed fee from Troyes. After scoring seven goals in 19 appearances, Ugbo’s performance has helped Wednesday to stay in the Championship. It seems like Ugbo has found the club that resonates with him.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liam Millar signed for Hull City. The Canadian winger is back in England. Hull City has signed the CanMNT winger on a three-year deal from Basel FC for an undisclosed fee.

🇮🇹 Tajon Buchanan walks back into training. The Brampton winger has joined his Inter Milan teammates at the club’s BPER training Centre. TJ has been seen walking into the training facility, further indication that his return from injury may happen earlier than expected.

🇩🇪 Alphonso Davies set Bayern Munich's jumping score. It's not much of a story but more like a fun fact. He jumped 61CM, which is insane. Phonzy could’ve been in Paris. Imagine a relay race with Davies and Andre De Grasse as running mates.

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Other News

📰 In other news this week

🌊 Whitecaps active in the transfer: Javain Brown out and Édier Ocampo in. Last week, the Caps waived Javain Brown and Real Salt Lake have decided to pick up the Jamaican defender from Vancouver. Now, the Whitecaps have added Colombian youth international Édier Ocampo. The wingback has been signed from first division Colombian club Atletico Nacional. The 20-year-old has signed with the Caps through 2027 with an option for 2028.

🇲🇽 York United signed son of Mexican legend. Santiago Marquez, son of Barcelona legend Rafa Marquez, has signed with York United. The Mexican owners of the club have been working their network in Mexico and have brought in talent with a top name. However, the Club Necaxa youngster joined York on a loan deal with no option to buy.

🌊 The Whitecaps hosted Pumas UNAM at BC Place. It was an unlucky night for the Caps. The usual attacking prowess was present in the build-up play, but the finishing was lacking. Vancouver was effective in the transition, with the majority of their shots finding the target. But Pumas’ keeper, Julio Gonzalez, had a solid performance, and Cesar Huerta was a menace to the Whitecaps’ defence. Unfortunately for the home side, the game ended 2-0 for the Mexican club.

🔴 TFC bowed out of the Leagues Cup against Miami. It was a seven-goal thriller in Miami. This was a dramatic game. It included a red card, two penalties, bangers, screamers and Bernadeschi coming off injured in the 17th minute. We can recap the game for you here, but the highlights are entertaining (if you’re not a TFC supporter). The game ended 4-3 for Miami. Also, Jordi Alba got a near-perfect Fotmob score of 9.7 with four assists.

🔵 CF Montréal vs Philadelphia Union = boring. It was a rainy day in Philly with a tattered pitch and lacklustre performance from both sides. The game came down to who wanted it more. CFM struggled in the final third and its defence struggled on Union counter-attacks. We’ll save you the details for this game was not of top entertainment. TFC’s loss to Inter Miami provided enjoyment and drama. But this 2-0 win for Philadelphia felt long and uninspiring.

Games of the Week

📺 What we’ll be watching

*All times in ET

CPL 🍁
Forge FC vs. Halifax Wanderers (Wednesday @7:00 pm)
York United vs. Cavalry FC (Friday @ 8:00 p.m.)

Premier League 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Chelsea vs. Manchester City (Sunday @ 11:30 am)

Ligue 1 🇫🇷 
Brest vs. Marseille (Saturday @ 11:00 a.m.)

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✅ Northern Picks

This week’s picks come from DARBY’s own AK (@ak.tivated). He’s a newly Montreal-Based photographer, dog dad, marketer by day, and depressed Chelsea fan.

📺 What to watch

La Liga All Access on Netflix. In-depth access to La Liga stars throughout the season always gives you that extra perspective on how these elite ballers operate day-to-day. Certified by my Spanish friends that this show is a guaranteed good time. Let’s hope they cover this upcoming La Liga season.

👕 What to buy

Sonndr Cafe’s Anniversary Tee. Our family at Sonndr just dropped a tee celebrating one year at their Dundas West location. Not only is Sonndr the clubhouse for FC Cold Sand, it’s also one of Toronto’s finest cafes.

🎧 What to listen to

Check on me 24HR (Andre Onana). Ex-Evertonian and new Aston Villa baller, Andre Onana has joined the ranks of ballers turned rappers. He dropped a new track soon after announcing his new transfer to Villa Park.

✅ Who to follow

TKOP Academy (Taking Kids Out of Poverty). TKOP is a Toronto-based non-profit organization aimed at supporting youth from low-income communities through education, football, and mentorship. They have several youth programs and have successfully registered competitive football teams within the city. Check them out and follow to support.