The Vancouver Whitecaps are on the verge of a new signing.

‘Caps Sporting Director and CEO Axel Schuster and his team are cooking in the kitchen. Kwasi Poku (who is unfortunately out with a hamstring injury) has been signed, and Aleksa Cvetković seems to be the next player to come through the door.

The 21-year-old Serbian midfielder comes from OFK Beograd in the Serbian SuperLiga. Their season is already underway, and they currently sit sixth with a 1-2-1 record and five points.

Rumours of the Whitecaps signing Cvetković swirled over the past few days. It was first reported on Saturday by Serbian reporter Vukašin Cvetković of Hotsport.Rs. Transfermarkt’s Manuel Veth and Tom Bogert of The Athletic reported on Monday morning that the Whitecaps were indeed signing the young Serb, with the fee being around 1.5 million dollars. Har Johal of Daily Hive also reported that Cvetković will join Vancouver once his visa paperwork is sorted out. OFK Beograd posted their thank you/goodbye post to Cvetković on Instagram.

So this signing is definitely happening. Cvetković will join the Whitecaps as just the second Serbian to play for the club. The other is current defender and vice-captain Ranko Veselinovic.

So who is he and what can he do on the pitch? Let’s dive into it.

Cvetković is a box-to-box midfielder and is what the Whitecaps needed.

Here is a compilation of Cvetković on YouTube. Big credit to u/ginja_ninjazzzzz for posting it on the Whitecaps subreddit.

There is a lot to like from this compilation. It shows the qualities of a box-to-box midfielder. (He can also play as a defensive midfielder) Cvetković seems to be solid with and without the ball. He looks good at keeping the ball with his feet and winning duels with the defenders. Not only that, he knows how to find his teammate down the field and looks excellent making progressive passes. Defensively, he is seen tracking back and winning tackles as well as making crucial blocks. Cvetković looks like he is a smart box-to-box midfielder.

His traits are very similar to the recently departed Sebastian Berhalter, who is now at Middlesbrough. (minus the fact that Cvetković isn’t much of a goal scorer.) After Berhalter left, the Whitecaps have been winless in MLS and Leagues Cup. Essentially, it looks like Cvetković is Berhalter’s replacement.

The underlying numbers between the two look similar. Berhalter has a big upper hand on big chances created, while Cvetković fares much better in successful dribbles. It is worth noting that Cvetković currently leads the Serbian SuperLiga in successful dribbles per 90 minutes (2.0 with an 80% rate; small sample size) and was fifth last season according to FotMob. (1.2 with a 50.9% rate.)

Cvetković has made 70 appearances in the Serbian league and has scored seven goals and tallied nine assists. While just 21, he does bring some experience in top-flight soccer. He stands at 5’11” and weighs around 143 pounds. By soccer standards, that isn’t big and probably explains why Sofascore lists aerial duels as a weakness for him.

Cvetković’s underlying numbers aren’t too bad. But keep in mind, this is a player that is still developing.

It will take him time to adapt to his new team, environment and system. This is a signing for now and the future. Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen has emphasized player development since he arrived in January 2025. Berhalter, Ali Ahmed, Jeevan Badwal, Edier Ocampo, Tate Johnson and Bruno Caicedo are players who made strides in their development under Sørensen.

In Sørensen’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, Cvetković can easily start next to Andres Cubas and behind Thomas Müller. Both Cvetković and Berhalter are good at winning the ball back, and like Berhalter before him, Cvetković will be relied on to progress the ball up the pitch and help create scoring chances. Maybe he can help the ‘Caps break down low blocks, which has been a problem for them this season. Cvetković and Cubas will also be relied heavily for defensive work.

Will this signing work?

On paper, it looks like this could be a great fit for the Whitecaps. Cvetković also feels like a very Schuster-type signing: Young, raw, fits the system and could be sold for big bucks in the future.

Of course, it is hard to predict the game of soccer, and Cvetković will have his ups and downs. Overall, this is a very shrewd signing and one that could work out well.

Is that all for the Whitecaps?

It seems that the Whitecaps are not done. They have been heavily linked to Daniel Gazdag of the Columbus Crew. Veth reported on Monday that the ‘Caps and Crew are in talks for the 30-year-old Hungarian midfielder. However, a deal has not been agreed upon, at least not yet. Gazdag is currently playing for the Crew in Leagues Cup, and Veth on Bluesky hinted that that is the reason why a deal hasn’t gone through yet.

The Crew have won their first two Leagues Cup games and are fighting for their place in the top four among MLS teams to move on to the knockout stages. Columbus hosts former Whitecap Pedro Vite and Pumas UNAM on Tuesday. It seems like once the Crew get knocked out of Leagues Cup, the deal for Gazdag will accelerate.

It should be an intriguing few days for the Whitecaps in the transfer market.