Whitecaps: Axel Schuster has a plan to replace Sebastian Berhalter

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There’s a pretty standard pathway for young players with big potential in the Axel Schuster era of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

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It goes exactly as it did for Sebastian Berhalter: be a player who needs a bit of a kickstart, who needs some steadiness in their environment, some encouragement. A player whose character carries them forward, to the point where they become a very exciting player in their mid 20s, who teams abroad are willing to pay a price for.

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That’s the Berhalter story. But it’s also the Ali Ahmed story. And the Pedro Vite story.

It’s part of how the club signed Bruno Caicedo this year and Kenji Cabrera last year. They can point to the big roles they’ve given young players and the growth young players have shown coming through the Whitecaps’ system.

Schuster is proud of the club he’s built: this is a place players know they can come, thrive and go on to big things. And do big things here along the way. All three of those players were key to last year’s massive Whitecaps season, after all.

All this said, Schuster also knows he has to look at the here and now and he knows how much his squad misses Berhalter’s quality. The midfielder’s transfer to England’s Middlesbrough FC was made official Tuesday and now the hunt is officially on for a replacement, the Whitecaps’ CEO and sporting director confirmed in an exclusive interview with Postmedia.

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Even after two lacklustre results in Cincinnati and Minneapolis, the Whitecaps are still atop the Western Conference. But that lead won’t last without an upgrade in midfield.

Speaking from Charlotte, N.C., where the MLS All-Star Game — as well as crucial league meetings — are on, Schuster acknowledged how time is of the essence in securing a veteran quality midfielder.

“I’m careful with promises,” he cautioned. But he then revealed that he’s hoping to confirm at least two signings in the days to come.

The first will be a younger player, but not a player who will be the Berhalter solution in the short term. That will be the second player, which he would love to secure in the next week, before the Leagues Cup, but which may take a bit longer.

“When Sebastian came to us he wasn’t Sebastian. We developed together,” Schuster said of what he’s able to pitch to young players. “This is what we do.”

“Within the next one or two days we’ll bring in a young player who might make people excited,” he said. “But they shouldn’t be seen as the Berhalter replacement exactly.”

The second player will be an experienced one. Who it will be is still up in the air: Schuster said there are three players he’s targeted, two of whom he’s spoken with over Zoom and a third will soon be spoken with.

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Berhalter leaving was something that Schuster knew was likely, but it wasn’t certain. He had told the young American earlier this year he’d like to re-sign him, but Berhalter had asked to see what might happen in the summer window first. So having a firm replacement plan wasn’t possible — but that didn’t stop Schuster from drawing up possibilities.

“You never know when it will happen exactly, you can’t say,” he said. “It’s often not possible to have the right player with contract in hand.”

“I’m optimistic we’ll get something done,” he went on. “Ideally as quickly as possible … but as always with this window it sometimes depends on what the next club is doing too.”

What he does know is that players are intrigued to play with Thomas Müller. “Some of these players may not know we played in the final last year, but they do know that Thomas played in a final last year and so then they realize that’s us,” Schuster quipped.

There’s little doubt, in other words, that signing the World Cup winner has raised the profile of the club, whether it’s directly in the minds of players or indirectly. Yet another reason for the Whitecaps to keep their ambitions in player recruitment high.

And money won’t be an issue, he added. “Every dollar is available.” Obviously he’s got to navigate the Byzantine MLS salary cap, but every cent that’s been secured in this year’s transfers, between Berhalter and Ali Ahmed, is available to be spent. The team is still in the win-now world.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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