Pacific FC Adds MLS Veteran Kekuta Manneh

Pacific FC had teased that a massive addition to the club was coming today, and the club has delivered on that promise with the arrival of former Whitecaps forward Kekuta Manneh.

The 28-year-old left winger’s arrival to Vancouver Isle completes a long-awaited return to British Columbia, where he spent five fruitful seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps between 2013 and 2017. He’s had a solid spell in Major League Soccer overall, (and the MLS in general, contributing 31 goals in 171 regular season appearances within the league.

When he left the ‘Caps for the Columbus Crew in 2017, he kept in touch with Pacific FC head coach James Merriman as he bounced around several clubs, with stints in Mexico and Switzerland preceding a return to North America with FC Cincinnati, New England Revolution, Austin FC, and San Antonio FC.

While Manneh and Merriman had discussed a potential move to Pacific FC in the past, the pieces finally fell into place for 2023. He joins a much-transformed Tridents attack that brought in Easton Ongaro and Adonijah Reid this offseason, replacing big holes left by Alejandro Diaz and Marco Bustos.

“Kekuta is a perfect signing for us right now to add to our squad that has had a good preseason, that has become a team quickly even despite all the changes and the transition,” Merriman told CanPL.ca. “I think we’re going to keep the same identity on the field, how we want to play and how we want to represent the club and that is the most important thing for us at Pacific.”

Pacific FC did not disclose the length or financial details of Kekuta’s contract.

Manneh and Pacific FC will kick off the club’s fifth-ever season with a home match against new neighbours Vancouver FC on April 15