Deal confirmed
Ali Ahmed headed to Norwich City – Vancouver Whitecaps receive fee plus add-ons
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Ali Ahmed has joined Norwich City. The Vancouver Whitecaps and the Championship side confirmed on Sunday that an agreement has been reached. The 25-year-old midfielder has signed a deal until the end of the 2028/29 season with an option for one additional year. Transfermarkt understands that the Whitecaps will receive in the region of €2 million plus the usual add-ons and a sell-on clause for the Canadian men’s national team player.
Market Value
Ali Ahmed
Left Midfield
€4.00m
The fee is significantly below his market value. But for Ahmed, the move fulfills his desire to play in Europe, and with the final year of his contract approaching, the Whitecaps were pressed to sell the midfielder. Furthermore, the sell-on and the bonus structure could see the deal near his current market value of €4m. The midfielder had an offer from 2. Bundesliga side Schalke in the summer, but the Germans couldn’t reach terms with the Whitecaps. Instead, Ahmed remained in Canada and was part of a Whitecaps side that won the Canadian Championship and reached the MLS Cup final, where they lost 3-1 to Inter Miami CF.
At the end of the season, the Whitecaps then triggered the one-year club option in Ahmed’s contract. But the club knew that, with Ahmed entering the final year of his contract, the time had come to cash in on the midfielder. In fact, at 25, the time seems to be right for Ahmed to make the move abroad, especially after what has been a productive year for the midfielder. Ahmed scored four goals and 13 assists in 39 games across all competitions for the Whitecaps in 2025.
Stats
Ali Ahmed
Left Midfield
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
102
8
14
Who is Norwich signing Ali Ahmed? Canaries sign versatile midfielder
“After several European clubs expressed interest in Ali last summer and clubs approached us again recently, we continued to have open and honest discussions with Ali and his representatives," Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster said. "Once Ali made it clear that he wanted a new experience outside of MLS and a contract extension would not be possible, we had to act in order to secure a transfer fee that would give us the flexibility to invest in the squad as we build for 2026 and beyond."
What sort of player is Ahmed? A bit of a late bloomer, Ahmed has developed into a versatile player under former Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini. This season, Whitecaps boss Jesper Sørensen has mostly utilized him as a left-winger or left-wing back. But the stats on Transfermarkt show that Ahmed can also play on the other wing and in the middle of the park as a transition player. Indeed, moving the ball forward quickly has become Ahmed’s biggest strength and a player that doesn’t quite fit the mold of a traditional winger or wing-back.
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