Vincent Janssen is on the verge of continuing his career in Major League Soccer, The Athletic reports. The 32-year-old striker is set to reach an agreement with the Portland Timbers and join on a free transfer after leaving Royal Antwerp.
Janssen left Antwerp this summer, so Portland can sign him without paying a transfer fee. According to the report, the Dutchman will not take up a so-called Designated Player spot. He arrives after striker Felipe Mora’s move to Atlético San Luis in Mexico.
For Janssen, it would mean a return to North America. The forward previously played for Mexican side Monterrey between 2019 and 2022, scoring 24 goals in three seasons. He also won the CONCACAF Champions League with the club in 2021.
Last season, the Royal Antwerp captain produced 13 goals and seven assists in 40 competitive matches, playing no fewer than 3,579 minutes.
His major breakthrough came at AZ, where he finished as the Eredivisie’s top scorer in the 2015/16 season with 27 league goals. Those performances earned him a transfer worth around $25 million to Tottenham Hotspur, then the biggest move of his career.
On the international stage, the striker made 22 appearances for the Netherlands and scored seven times. Janssen was also part of the Netherlands squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At the Portland Timbers, he will begin a new project under recently appointed head coach Martí Cifuentes. Janssen is the American club’s first major summer signing, and more reinforcements are expected during the transfer window.
There, the former AZ striker will compete with 21-year-old Venezuela international Kevin Kelsy, who has already scored eight times this MLS season.
Portland currently sit 10th in the Western Conference and, with 17 matches still to play, are only two points off a play-off place.