Loan deal pending: Whitecaps defender Mitchell is in Edmonton By Steven Sandor Posted on March 11, 2013 3 0 694 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Carlyle Mitchell UPDATE AS OF 4:10 p.m. MT Monday: The Mitchell deal is now official. Trinidad and Tobago central defender Carlyle Mitchell arrived in Edmonton Monday, as a loan deal that sends him from the Whitecaps to the Eddies is now awaiting signatures and league approvals. As well, Mitchell still needs to pass a medical for the loan deal to be complete, but is expected to train with FC Edmonton on Tuesday. The proposed deal will keep him with the Eddies through the 2013 spring and fall NASL campaigns. But, the proposed deal prevents him from playing against the Whitecaps in the semifinal of the Amway Canadian Championship. And that means FCE coach Colin Miller has got to make some decisions. The team confirmed that captain Albert Watson’s MCL tear will likely keep him out of the lineup for eight to 12 weeks, so there is a good chance that he won’t be available for the Whitecaps’ matches. Central defender and NASL Best XI member Paul Hamilton is still unsigned. So, the unit of Mitchell and Watson, who would be projected to be regular starters for FCE in an injury, contract-restriction-free world, won’t be what FCE uses when the Eddies face the Whitecaps. Mitchell needs minutes. Since signing with the Whitecaps in 2011, the defender has played in just five matches, and a grand total of 421 minutes. He scored three times in the MLS Reserve League last season; but there simply aren’t enough matches at the reserve level for a 25-year-old player to remain in top game shape. Mitchell had been expected earlier, but the Achilles injury that Whitecaps’ captain Jay DeMerit suffered in the season opener against Toronto FC delayed the process.
