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Ryan Gauld helped sell his former teammate on Vancouver, but Sporting Director Axel Schuster was the closer.
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Published Sep 03, 2024 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 6 minute read
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Stuart Armstrong moves the ball up field for Southampton against Preston North End in April. He’s joined the Vancouver Whitecaps as a designated player. Photo by Mike Hewitt /Getty Images
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Before Ryan Gauld, there was Kenny Miller and Barry Robson — Scottish signing supremes by the Vancouver Whitecaps in their MLS era.
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On Tuesday, the Caps went back to sign another international from the land of cakes: Stuart Armstrong.
The 32-year-old, who’s spent the past six seasons playing with English side Southampton FC — five of those in the Premier League, and one in the Championship — joins the Whitecaps on a Designated Player contract through 2026. He’ll be on a salary of at least $1.7M USD.
Gauld and Armstrong played together at Dundee United, with their times crossing over at the youth and senior levels, though Armstrong was a few years older than Gauld.
It was Gauld who reached out to Armstrong first to express the team’s interest, as Armstrong was close to being out of contract with Southampton.
“When he first came into Dundee United, he was so young. I was a little bit older than him, maybe three or four years,” Armstrong said at his introductory presser with the Caps on Tuesday.
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“I always remember him being quite quiet, but obviously on the pitch, he was unbelievable. The brightest star at that time in the Scottish league. He left to Sporting Lisbon relatively quickly, so our time together was only that short year.
“You talk, you see each other sometimes in Scotland, but obviously, as time goes and you have different clubs, you drift apart. So I’m looking forward to reconnecting with him, and I’m sure he’s a little bit louder these days.”
A very youthful pair of Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Gauld at Dundee United training in 2014. Photo by Craig Watson/SNS Group via Getty Images /PNG
The process to bring Armstrong to Vancouver was a slow-burning one, as there was still interest from English clubs. Whitecaps CEO and Sporting Director Axel Schuster hopped on a plane earlier this summer and “crashed the family vacation” in France, sitting down to dinner at an Italian restaurant with the veteran midfielder and his family.
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He broke down what the club could offer, how he thought he’d fit in the system and culture, and how valuable he felt Armstrong could be.
“I think I’ve been very clear, I was a bad negotiator when I met him, and they told him that he is a missing piece for us and that we feel about him the same way we felt about Gauldy and (Andres) Cubas,” Schuster said, laughing.
“It felt a little bit like the way we had to work on the transfers of Gauldy and Cubas … and they were if, if you are completely convinced of something, you have to invest a lot and go all in. So, and I knew from the beginning that we have to give him the feeling that our door is wide open, that every blocking stone — if there is one — we want to put away, that we want to show them that we are up to solve every one of the problems he maybe has with this move.”
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The team sees him playing as either a No. 8 or 10 at times, helping link the midfield and forward line, bringing some more creativity that they might have lacked before. Transfermarkt’s Manuel Veth pointed out that Armstrong ranked second in the English Championship with 94 deep completions, fifth with 39 smart passes, and 16th with 41.03 per cent completed smart passes, and was one of the league’s best progressive passers. The Whitecaps analytical department was also high on his defensive presence, leadership ability and work in the transitional phases of the game, seeing a player who can help a young team manage a game’s tempo.
The native of Inverness, Scotland, started 143 of his 214 appearances across all competitions for Southampton, scoring 25 goals and adding 19 assists. Last year, he had five goals and seven assists to help the Saints get promotion back to the Premier League. He’s coming off a quad injury in April that ended his season with Southampton and time with Scotland at the Euros.
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Armstrong said he’s kept fit, but isn’t match fit yet. There are just nine regular-season games left for Vancouver (12-8-5, 5th West), starting with Saturday’s home game against FC Dallas.
The move to MLS was met with some surprise domestically, but Armstrong said it was the right one for not only him, as a player, but for his family, which just welcomed a daughter three months ago. Schuster said that Armstrong’s wife was the one he truly had to convince.
Once the decision was made, Schuster said it was just 24 hours after Armstrong called him back that he boarded a flight to Vancouver.
“That was a huge part, and that’s what we tried to relate to Axel when we met him, that it’s not only a decision for me and a football perspective, but it’s also a family decision,” said Armstrong, who has family friends who moved to Vancouver.
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“And I have had a lot of conversations with her, and she didn’t want to impress her opinion too much, because ultimately I have to go somewhere, and I have to play football every day, and I need to be happy with that decision. But I could tell that it was very important we go somewhere that is very much good for the family. And I wanted that too. I wanted her to be happy, and I wanted it to be a good move for the family. (And) Vancouver really fit the bill.”
Gauld’s input played a role in that, as did that of Gary Mackay-Steven, who played at Dundee United, Celtic and New York City FC. “I grilled him about the MLS and asked him a million questions,” Armstrong quipped, and he even went as far as calling staff and trainers who had made the move to MLS, to get the complete picture of the league.
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It wasn’t the lower-tier retirement league it’s painted as outside of North America, but a physical, fast, skilled league.
“I think the speaking to Gauldy and speaking to other guys who played in the MLS, who I’ve played with before, to get a feel of what the MLS is like and what to expect. And obviously, Vancouver, everyone speaks so highly of the city. Whoever’s been here absolutely loves it,” he said. “Obviously it’s a huge change, and moving across the world, a few people are a little bit shocked that this is the decision.
” … Part of my decision to come to the MLS is (to experience) something completely new, something completely different. I’m used to U.K. style football in Scotland and England. You can’t play football forever, and at some points in my career, even as a young player, I was always wanted to experience playing abroad. I never knew it’d be this far abroad, but I’m very excited.”
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To make room for Armstrong on the roster, the Whitecaps bought out defender Luis Martins on Monday, freeing up an international spot. New signing Édier Ocampo also had his first practice on Tuesday, and Deiber Caicedo has returned to the team on loan.
“I think that overall, the whole transfer window for us was a good one. And now we have to go back to work and get the best out of it,” said Schuster.
At the international level, Armstrong has 51 caps to his name with Scotland’s national team since making his debut in March 2017. The 32-year-old started two of his three appearances at UEFA EURO 2020 and made one appearance at UEFA EURO 2024 this past summer.
He has also represented his country in FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO qualifiers, UEFA Nations League matches and international friendlies. In total, Armstrong has recorded five goals and seven assists for the senior team.
Armstrong was also a member of Scotland’s U-21 and U-19 sides in his youth, alongside Gauld.
jadams@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/vancouver-whitecaps-sign-stuart-armstrong-southampton-fc