Vancouver Whitecaps: Hwang In-beom, Johan Larsson begin Marc dos Santos legacy

The Vancouver Whitecaps have been fully involved in building their roster as new manager Marco Dos Santos takes over. He is starting to build his legacy.

After failing to qualify for the 2018 Major League Soccer postseason, the Vancouver Whitecaps, under new head coach Marc dos Santos, have been busy in the early stages of the offseason.

The two latest players to be linked to the club are Korean midfielder Hwang In-beom and defender Johan Larsson.

At 22, In-beom is the younger of the two targets and currently plays in the Korean second division for Daejeon Citizen. He made 25 appearances during the 2018 season and finished with three goals and four assists.

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Internationally, he has made six senior team appearances for South Korea and was a member of the gold medal-winning Asian Games team in 2018.

In-beom is a promising player in the midfield who has garnered attention from the Bundesliga, most notably that of Borussia Mönchengladbach as a report in October linked the Korean international to the German club.

There’s no doubt In-beom could compete for a starting role with the Whitecaps and perhaps the promise of playing time could sway him to join the Canadian club. As no deal has been reached to sign the midfielder, this will remain a storyline to watch as January approaches.

Meanwhile, a free transfer might be on hand for the Whitecaps if they can successfully sign Larsson in the offseason. The 28-year-old right back from Sweden plays for Brondby and has had a big impact in the Danish Superliga. He will leave Brondby after almost four years of service and 172 appearances with 36 goals. Before his time with Brondby, he played for IK Elfsborg and racked up 196 appearances.

With recent involvement in Sweden’s national team’s fixtures, Larsson has shown he still can provide consistent minutes at a high level. This would be a big addition for the Whitecaps who would benefit from getting a veteran player in their ranks.

After the departure of Alphonso Davies to Bayern Munich, Vancouver has been left with a good deal of funds to work with in the offseason. If either of these two players doesn’t end up on the 2019 roster, there are bound to be continued rumors and reports of players liked to Vancouver.

The return to the playoffs could be on hand for them if they can find the right mix of players and chemistry. This is a crucial offseason for the future of the club as Marc dos Santos begins to build his legacy.