Rumor: CJ Sapong heading to Portugal?

MLS Transfers tweeted out earlier this evening that Portuguese Primeira Liga club Vitoria S.C. are interested in the Philadelphia Union’s CJ Sapong.

Predictably, with all of the hype and hysteria over the potential signing of United States and FC Nantes midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, this has caused quite the stir on social media. Sapong is the Philadelphia Union’s best option as a lone striker by far. Fabian Herbers has shown flashes of brilliance this season but he’s still a rookie and still learning what works and what doesn’t against MLS defenses. Losing Sapong has the potential to be a huge blow to the Union’s playoff aspirations.

While the tweet just says the club has “shown an interest” in Sapong, there may be something to this. Kevin Kinkead tweeted out the following not long after the MLS Transfers tweet:

This corroborates that there has been interest in Sapong from abroad, however there is still nothing tangible on a move to Portugal. There would be a lot of moving parts to any move for Sapong, most likely including the Union signing someone to replace him. Earnie Stewart kept a “shadow squad” while he was with AZ Alkmaar, so there’s no reason to think that he’s not doing the same while here in Philadelphia. It’s certainly something we’ll keep an eye on.

Update: Apparently Vitoria is going to scout Sapong at some point this year, and since the transfer window closes Wednesday it looks like CJ will be in Union blue and gold through the end of the season.