Jeremy Ebobisse reportedly traded to San Jose for GAM

In a surprise move by the club, the Portland Timbers have reportedly traded winger/striker Jeremy Ebobisse to the Portland Timbers in exchange for $1.167 million in General Allocation Money. Steven Goff of the Washington Post was the first to report it, with Paul Tenorio of The Athletic following up on it.

Goff tweeted not long after the Timbers announced the starting lineup for the match against San Jose that Ebobisse was not in uniform, saying that he was hearing that Ebobisse was traded to the Earthquakes.

Tenorio followed that up minutes later with a story providing more details. Portland will receive $1.167 million in GAM that will be split over two years, with the first $667,000 coming in 2022 and the other $500,000 in 2023. The Timbers also retain a 15% sell-on clause for “anything over the initial $1.167 million San Jose paid for him.” Ebobisse is also expected to sign a new contract with San Jose.

Tenorio called the trade a win-win for both the Timbers and Ebobisse, writing that Ebobisse gets a chance to shine as a striker while the Timbers earn some cap relief.

The Timbers get a huge return of allocation money for the 24-year-old that can be applied elsewhere to buy down cap numbers in 2022, and they moved a player from an area of strength on the depth chart who was being asked to play out of position. From Ebobisse’s point of view, he moves to a team where he can get consistent minutes as a true striker and try to fight into the picture at the No. 9 position with the U.S. national team.

Ebobisse appeared in 88 matches (54 starts) for the Timbers since being drafted out of Duke in 2017. His best season came in 2019, when he scored 11 goals and added one assist.

We will update with more details as more info comes in. If you have a subscription to The Athletic, you can read Tenorio’s article here.