Another player is leaving Portland to head abroad.
The Portland Timbers announced on Tuesday that they have transferred midfielder George Fochive to Danish first division club Viborg FF. Fochive, 23, leaves Portland after two seasons and 11 career appearances, all of which came in 2015, with the Timbers.
“This is a position where we currently have very good depth and we took into consideration that George wanted to explore this opportunity,” Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said in a club statement. “With these factors taken into account, we have agreed to the transfer of George and wish him all the best.”
Fochive, who was drafted with the first pick in the third round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, is the third player to leave the Timbers for a foreign club this offseason. Costa Rican international Rodney Wallace joined FC Arouca in Portugal earlier this month, and defender Jorge Villafaña moved to Liga MX club Santos Laguna in December.
Portland still have a slew of holding midfielders on their roster, including Diego Chara, Jack Jewsbury and Ben Zemanski.
“George has made tremendous strides in his development since he was drafted and we are very proud of this growth in our environment,” said Timbers head coach Caleb Porter in the same statement. “It has been an initiative of our club to have young players flourish in their careers here and this was a great opportunity for him to keep progressing.”
