It’s been a busy offseason for Axel Schuster and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, with many key pieces being added to the roster.
The ‘Caps have welcomed a total of six new players to their roster so far, all of whom carry a different nationality.
Two of those additions were announced last week, with Portuguese-Angolan defender Bruno Gaspar joining on loan from Sporting CP and highly-touted Brazilian midfielder Caio Alexandre signing a four-year deal from Botafogo.
“We want to be a team that progresses the ball in midfield to create chances for our strikers. Bruno and Caio will help us with that a lot”, said Schuster.
Both Gaspar and Caio Alexandre, as well as SuperDraft picks David Egbo and Javain Brown, will join up with the ’Caps pending the receipts of their work permits and visas.
Evan Newton, the newest member of the ‘Caps goalkeeper union, has started taking part in full first team training after completing his quarantine.
Left back Ali Adnan has completed his 14-day quarantine and started working individually with the club’s performance team on Wednesday before joining full team training.
Meanwhile, Colombian winger Deiber Caicedo has begun his quarantine, after arriving in Canada last week.
Given the number of absences expected throughout the season due to international tournaments, Schuster hopes the additions can help take the club to the next level and add some healthy competition to the roster.
“We want to be a very physical team, we want to be in the top three in all physical outputs”, said Schuster. “That means the total running distance, the number of sprints, and the number of intensive runs. You need to give players time to recover, and you need players on the bench that can continue to play with that intensity.”
One thing a majority of these signings have in common is they’re young and hungry to develop.
Alexandre, Brown, Caicedo, and Egbo are all under the age of 23.
With the ‘Caps boasting one of the league’s youngest squads, Schuster has made it no secret of the club’s commitment to developing young players. One must look no further than the upcoming Concacaf Olympic qualifiers as proof, with five ‘Caps on the Canada U-23 roster.
On Wednesday, 10 more players joined Emiliano Brienza, Matteo Campagna, and Kamron Habibullah as Academy participants. Now also training with the first team are Max Anchor, Owen Antoniuk, Amir Batyrev, Alan Camacho, Nathan Demian, Keishean Francois, Jay Herdman, Abraham Jones, Jaden Manetta, and Eric White. Brienza remains as a camp participant but is sidelined due to injury.
Schuster added how important it is for the club to sign young players with high potential but can also immediately provide an option at each position.
“It’s exciting to get players that exactly fit our needs. They’re young, but it’s even more exciting to know that we are all confident that we will develop them into even better players”, said Schuster.
Additionally, the ‘Caps continue to be active in the transfer market, in search for a playmaking attacking midfielder.
“We have said [the number ten] is a very important piece for our squad. We’re open to investing a good amount of money into this position, we want to find the right player”, explained Schuster. “We’ll take our time to find the right one and not (settle for) the first one. Our aim is to find the exact right profile and if he comes a little bit later and then helps us make the last step in the season to reach that success we’re looking for, we’re fine with that.”
The ‘Caps will continue the 2021 Training Camp, presented by Enerex, at the National Soccer Development Centre before making the trek to Utah in April to begin the 2021 MLS regular season.
Enerex Botanicals
Born and bred in Vancouver, Enerex Botanicals are proud to be the official vitamin supplement partner of Vancouver Whitecaps FC and presenting partner of the club's 2021 Training Camp. Enerex help promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle with premium, natural, performance-geared supplements. A formula for success both on and off the pitch, Enerex are committed to sourcing the best raw materials and most advanced production processes. Learn more about Enerex supplements by visiting enerex.ca.
