Unlike last season, the Vancouver Whitecaps defense has been anything but stalwart. If not for the stellar play of keeper David Ousted, the Caps could be closer to the Seattle Sounders at the bottom of the Western Conference standings in MLS than to the league leading Colorado Rapids. As a result it was expected that the Whitecaps may add some defensive reinforcements during the summer transfer window.
Initial speculation focused on Canadian internationals David Edgar, who was training with the team a few weeks ago, and Nigel Marcel de Jong, who had been released by the Ottawa Fury and photos were seen of him navigating towards Vancouver with his family.