Vancouver Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster has denied any interest in signing Diego Lainez after reports in Mexico linked the MLS club with a move for the 22-year-old.
Lainez is currently on loan with Tigres from Real Betis, but he’s been unable to make a major impact with the Liga MX side. Since joining the club in January, Lainez has started just four of his 12 appearances and is still looking for his first goal or assist.
That has once again put Lainez’s club future in doubt. The winger is on loan through the end of 2023 with Tigres, who don’t seem likely to pick up his reported $7 million purchase option at present.
Could a surprise move to MLS be on the cards? Schuster said if it is, it won’t be with the Whitecaps.
“I heard about this for the very first time when a friend forwarded me the message and the tweet, and I hadn’t heard anything about it before,” Schuster said on The AFTN Soccer Show.
“So it would be a big surprise if there was anything to that because if I don’t know, I don’t think that there’s anything to know.”
Asked if he’s spoken to Lainez’s agent, Schuster replied: “I don’t even know who his agent is. Maybe I have talked to his agent but not about this player. We have never started discussions about the player. And he was not brought up to me so far.”
Lainez’s contract with Betis runs through 2025, but he likely doesn’t have a future with the La Liga side. The Mexico international was sent on loan to Portuguese side Braga ahead of the current season, but that move was cut short after Lainez failed to establish himself as a regular.
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