Report: Whitecaps targeting designated player midfielder

Feb 12 2017, 6:29 am

It’s been a quiet off-season for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Apart from the additions of MLS SuperDraft picks and the recent signing of Yordy Reyna, the squad is largely unchanged from last year.

While manager Carl Robinson has addressed some positions through the draft and player signings this winter, the Whitecaps still need to complete their squad with a couple of impact players.

The Whitecaps have had two open Designated Player roster spots since they parted ways with striker Octavio Rivero and midfielder Pedro Morales last year.

This is something that hasn’t been lost on their fans either, and has been a hot topic of debate over the winter.

The rumour mill has been oddly quiet for most of the off-season concerning the Whitecaps. That was until Saturday, when Kristan Heneage of Yahoo Sports UK and Four Four Two Magazine reported that the Whitecaps are apparently in the hunt for a DP at the central midfield position.

One name that has been tossed around is 34-year-old Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson.

Hutchinson, who is currently playing for Beşiktaş in Turkey, is no stranger to Vancouver having played here as a member of the Canadian Men’s National Team in several matches over the past year.

The native of Brampton, Ontario is a very talented player who has played for several notable European clubs including PSV Eindhoven and FC Copenhagen. He was reported to be a target of English Premier League club West Ham last summer.

The Whitecaps desperately could use a player of Hutchinson’s skill. After an excellent 2015 MLS campaign, the ‘Caps struggled last year, finishing eighth in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs. But if Robinson can find the right players to replace Morales and Rivero, then the Whitecaps will be in good shape to move forward from 2016.

Will Atiba Hutchinson be one of those players? Stay tuned…

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