Janine Beckie reportedly to leave Sky Blue FC

Janine Beckie did not travel with Sky Blue FC for Sunday night’s road match against the Orlando Pride, a move that likely predicates a move away from the club, according to reports published Sunday by The Equalizer.

Since The Equalizer’s report came out, multiple sources have confirmed to Once a Metro that the Canadian international forward has been linked to at least one major European club.

However, league policies are reportedly making it difficult for Beckie to get out of her current contract, which, as with all players, is with the NWSL and not Sky Blue.

Although Sky Blue experienced travel woes for the second weekend in a row, with players being asked to forfeit their seats on an overbooked flight to Orlando, Beckie’s absence from the team is reportedly not a result of those, as all players intended to make the trip to Orlando did.

Nor is she listed on an updated version of the NWSL’s injury report, sent out Sunday afternoon.

Instead, it seems that Beckie’s absence is more likely an indicator that she will soon be departing the club.

If so, it will not be without reason. Since being traded to Sky Blue in the blockbuster draft-day trade that sent Sam Kerr and Nikki Stanton to Chicago while also bringing Carli Lloyd back to New Jersey, Beckie has been unable to record a goal or an assist over 11 starts in 15 appearances for the club.

The team is currently sitting in last place in the league, with a winless 0-13-3 record. A recent report by Once a Metro also brought Sky Blue to mainstream media headlines after shedding light on poor conditions suffered by Sky Blue players over the years, the biggest blow to the team this year.

Sources confirmed to Once a Metro that those conditions, combined with the poor on-field results, were causing multiple players to request trades.

If Beckie does leave the team before season’s end, she will be the third new player signed by Sky Blue ahead of the 2018 season who has left the club midseason to play overseas.

Michaela Abam, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft, was announced as joining Paris FC last week after being waived by the club. Brazilian-international signing Thaisa departed the club at the same time as Abam, and the team said at the time it was to allow her to pursue a playing opportunity abroad.

Fellow Canadian federation player Adrian Leon, who came to Sky Blue via the 2018 NWSL Dispersal Draft, was traded to the Seattle Reign FC in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. Leon had distanced herself from the club after only a couple of appearances following by being excluded from the team’s game-day 18 for the majority of her time with the club.