The Vancouver Whitecaps are set to address their defensive issues with the signings of Canadian internationals David Edgar and Marcel de Jong, according to reports from local outlet The Province.
Both players are reportedly free agents and The Province dubbed their acquisitions as “all but done deals” in coverage of VWFC's 2-2 home draw vs. Colorado on Saturday night.
A longtime veteran of the English leagues with stints at clubs like Newcastle United, Burnley and Sheffield United on his resume, Edgar parted ways with Birmingham City at the close of the 2015/16 season and has spent several weeks training with the Whitecaps.
A 6-foot-4, 29-year-old center back who can also fill in at right back and holding midfield, Edgar boasts 37 caps for Canada. He left his native Kitchener, Ontario at age 14 to join Newcastle's academy and expressed a desire to play in his homeland in a conversation with The Province's Marc Weber last month.
“He’s an organizer. He’s a talker. Obviously he’s at a good age for us. He’s a good size. He can build out from the back, which I think sometimes we’ve lacked this year, and he also likes to defend,” Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson told TSN Radio at the time. “He’s an international footballer, he’s played at a very good level in England, and played consistently, so it’s just something we’re having a look at.”
A left back and occasional left winger, de Jong is the same age as Edgar and brings similar experience from his time in the Netherlands and Germany. He played for Sporting Kansas City last year and most recently turned out for NASL side Ottawa Fury.
Currently sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 7-8-4 record, Vancouver have leaked an MLS-worst 33 goals in their 19 league games to date. They gave up just 36 in the entirety of their 2015 campaign.
