VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson is set for a very busy offseason as he looks to strengthen his squad for next year's MLS campaign.
It will be a fine balancing act for Robinson in terms of what talent he keeps around in Vancouver, what particular areas of the team he strengthens via new faces he will look to bring in. One current player who the 'Caps coach is keen to lock up for next season, however, is Sebastian Fernandez.
The Uruguayan is currently coming to the end of a one-year loan deal from Montevideo-based side Boston River. Whitecaps FC are now weighing up their options but both the club and Fernandez would like to see the deal continue in some form.
"It's tricky, very tricky, but it's something that I want to try and do," Robinson told reporters about the negotiations in trying to keep Fernandez in Vancouver. "Seba's been excellent for me this year and I think he can get better. In games he’s drifted in and out. At home, he’s been excellent the last few months."
"It depends on figures. It depends on agents. It depends on clubs, what they want. I've had a number of conversations already, three or four over the last week about Seba's situation and we'll try and nail that down this week because either way, I need to know one way or the other about whether we can try and extend the loan or not and that's an area that I need to strengthen next year."
The versatile Fernandez gave Vancouver options on both wings and up front, scoring five goals, often of the spectacular variety, in his 33 appearances in the regular season and playoffs during his first season in MLS. And it's been an experience that he would like to extend.
"I would like to be here next season," Fernandez confirmed. "I’d like to come here with the same team, the same group because we have great times here. I have friends in the locker room and I would like to come back and be here.
"I think I can come back but it [does] not depend on me. My manager will talk with the club and after we will see what happens."
Fernandez was one of a number of South American players that Robinson brought to Vancouver this season and the culture they helped bring both on the pitch and in dressing room has been praised by their teammates.
It's been an environment that's helped Fernandez and the others fit in quickly and after spells in Uruguay, Mexico and Peru, he feels right at home MLS.
"It’s a very physical league," Fernandez said of MLS. "All the teams play well. Every team tried to play a strong team. I think I did well. I tried to give everything that I have and I think it was a positive year for me."
"It’s different. In Mexico, the football is more slow than here. It's not better or worse, it's different. Here, it’s similar to English football. More physical, more tackles. But it’s good. I like this league. I think it's one of the best in the world right now."
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