Finally, the Portland Timbers have signed Mexican defender Josecarlos Van Rankin on a one-year loan with the option to exercise a permanent transfer from Liga MX side C.D. Chivas Rayadas de Guadalajara.
The arrival of Josecarlos will show the commitment of the Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson and its GM Gavin Wilkinson, to assemble a contender and by adding more depth to one of the most vulnerable areas in its defensive backfield. Van Rankin alongside Claudio Bravo signed in December from Club Atletico Banfield, for sure will make this a defensive armada, giving a lot of expectations to Rose City fans of seeing a competitor for the 2021 season.
Per team General Manager Gavin Wilkinson, he stated that Josecarlos Van Rankin not only will boost the team’s defensive game alongside a compliment to the team’s offensive attack in both MLS and the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League which the Timbers qualified for via winning the MLS-is-Back Tournament last Summer. For Josecarlos, he will occupy an international roster slot pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa.
Jose Carlos Van Rankin is an academy prospect from Pumas UNAM and made his debut with the big team on March 12, 2012, coming as a substitute in the second half in a loss against Club America. He played for Pumas UNAM from 2012-2019 with 180 appearances (162 starts), seven goals, and seven assists across all competitions. On the international stage, Van Rankin made five appearances with Pumas in the 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League and made four appearances (3 starts) in the 2016 Copa Libertadores.
With Chivas, he played from (2018-20), in his two seasons he registered two goals and three assists in 44 appearances (43 starts) across all competitions. In addition to his performances with Chivas Van Rankin making two appearances in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. The Mexico City, Mexico native went to play in 2019-2021 with another Liga MX giant Santos Laguna on loan from Chivas. From Santos Laguna, Van Rankin scored two goals in 25 appearances (23 starts) across all competitions. In his first year with Santos, he made 11 appearances (10 starts) in the 2019-20 and his second and last season (2020-21) played 14 games with (13 starts).
Josecarlos Van Rankin has played for Mexico U-20, U-21, U-23 making multiple appearances, and with the U-20 team that won the 2013 Concacaf U-20 Championship and named the tournament Best XI. With Mexico Senior side he made one appearance and contributed with an assist in a 3-2 win over Costa Rica on October 11, 2018
The arrival of defender Jose Carlos Van Rankin, once touted to play in Europe for Portuguese giants Porto and Benfica, will help add depth to the Portland Timbers’ defensive game alongside Claudio Bravo, Larry’s Mabiala, and Dario Zuparic, looking to make it into one of the most feared.
Source: Portland Timbers FC
Portland Timbers
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