Pacific FC Confirms Two-Year Gazdov Loan Deal With FC Nurnberg

One week after we confirmed that Pacific FC goalkeeper Emil Gazdov was training with FC Nurnberg, his parent club has now confirmed the 17-year-old will spent the next two seasons out on loan with the German side.

The club signed the teenage prospect back in June, though the former Whitecaps Residency product had already been training with the CPL side through a connection with goalkeeper coach Mark Village.

Part of our club strategy is to move players on to new opportunities. This is a great move for Emil and we’ll do everything we can to support him.

Rob Friend

The youngster stands at six-foot-three and didn’t travel with the club to The Island Games this year after signing, but instead quietly got his paperwork in order for a move to Europe. The club continued forward with Nolan Wirth and Callum Irving splitting duties in the Charlottetown-based bubble tournament.

Gazdov wrapped up his time in highschool remotely during the pandemic, and had been living away from his family to be closer to the PFC training grounds. Now, he’s poised to spend the majority of the next two years overseas in a bid to develop his talents as a professional goalkeeper.

The move represents the only confirmed outbound loan from the west coast side so far, but it appears that Emil’s two-year deal has been in the works for quite some time now. It remains unclear if any other loan moves will come from PFC during the long CPL offseason.

First-year head coach Pa-Modou Kah has done a great job reinvigorating the west coast side, leading a dangerous-looking PFC squad to its first-ever postseason. While the club bowed out of the group stage, there were plenty of positives to take away from the campaign – though conceding penalties appeared to be their Achilles heel.

Gazdov becomes the second CPL loan move to be announced today, with Atletico Ottawa confirming that Viti Martinez will spend the offseason over in Spain with Alaves B. A handful of other loan moves for the likes of Michael Petrasso, Nicholas Hamilton, and Easton Ongaro have also been confirmed, though Gazdov’s is the only two-year deal amongst them.

If all goes well for Cavalry FC youngster Aribim Pepple during his trial with Premier League side Sheffield United, Gazdov won’t be the only 17-year-old CPL export plying his trade over in Europe this year.

The full length of Gazdov’s contract with Pacific FC was not disclosed by the club.