Whitecaps ‘close’ to biggest signing in team history: Thomas Müller

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The Vancouver Whitecaps apparently need a new stadium and a new owner, but that’s not hindering their ambition.

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As first reported by Transfermarkt’s Manuel Veth, Postmedia has confirmed the MLS team is near a deal to bring in Thomas Müller, the legendary German attacking midfielder.

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“Attacking midfielder,” of course, undersells the way he plays the game: He’s not really a midfielder but he’s not really a striker either — he’s a famed attacking threat.

A player so famed, his nickname has become the descriptor of the role he plays in his team’s formation: “interpreter,” which means “space interpreter.”

After Müller scored a hat trick against Portugal at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, German coach Joachim Low gushed about Müller’s talents: “He is a very unorthodox player and you can’t really predict his lines of running, but he has one aim and that is: ‘How can I score a goal?’ That makes him so dangerous, especially in the box,” he said.

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According to a league source, the Whitecaps efforts to land the attacker are “not done but close.”

Under Major League Soccer’s complicated transfer rules, Cincinnati FC holds Müller’s “discovery rights,” meaning they have first right of negotiation with the player. But Müller, who scored 150 goals in 503 appearances for Bayern Munich before becoming a free agent this summer, did not want to sign with the Eastern Conference side.

There was some thought that he might join LAFC, but that has not happened. Instead, the Whitecaps have shown interest and Müller has been very willing to consider a move here.

Contract terms are just about agreed between the team and player. Because of how the Whitecaps have chosen to structure their roster this season, they do not have an open designated player spot, but would be allowed to add him using targeted allocation money.

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For once, it would seem, MLS is bending the rules for one of their less-flashier clubs to add a big-time star player. Müller has also scored 45 goals in 131 career games for Germany.

Even at 35 he is, without question, the biggest name the Whitecaps have ever signed in MLS, far exceeding the likes of Fredy Montero, Kenny Miller and Pedro Morales. Even Ryan Gauld, who is the most talented player to suit up for Vancouver in the past 15 years.

Integrating Müller and Gauld together in the lineup will be interesting, as Gauld is a pure No. 10 and Müller’s role often sees him lining up in a similar slot, but he roams far more than a traditional No. 10 does.

Müller’s strengths as a player are all about his intelligence and ability to read the play. He’s not fast, he’s not a powerful striker of the ball. He’s not a wondrous dribbler.

He’s just very shrewd, at all times.

This signing, at this point, appears to be a matter of when, not if.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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