The Montreal Impact have been pretty busy the past two weeks.
Aside from unveiling its official team jersey, Major League Soccer’s newest franchise has seen its roster swell from four to 18 players after it made a series of trades and picked up players in the expansion draft.
One thing the Impact haven’t done is sign a Canadian. Their current roster includes Americans, a Frenchman, a Gambian, a Jamaican, a Colombian and a Bosnian – but not a single player born in Canada.
But Matt Jordan, the Impact’s director of soccer operations, insists the club is actively pursuing Canadian-born players ahead of the start of the 2012 MLS season.
"We are in discussions with several (Canadian players). … We will have a Canadian influence on the team," Jordan told sportsnet.ca.
Jordan declined to identify which Canadian players the team was in talks with when pressed for details.
The former Impact goalkeeper did hint that two products from the Impact’s youth academy could be added to the senior team roster.
"We have a couple of guys who are very interesting for us. I don’t want to say any names, but there are a few who feel really good about," Jordan said. "One guy we think has the potential to contribute; the other is going to be a multi-year project."
Thus far, Montreal has built a side that combines experience and youth. The additions of three veterans – goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, defender Nelson Rivas and midfielder Davy Arnaud – are all part of Montreal’s plan to build sturdy team spine.
"We feel like we’re slowly accomplishing our goals of building a strong core through the middle of our team," Jordan explained.
Another principle the Impact have adopted in building their roster is trying to sign players with MLS experience.
"We feel really good with a lot of the pickups we’ve made," Jordan said. "You have Justin Mapp, Josh Gardner, Tyson Wahl, Sanna Nyassi, Justin Braun – these are all guys who are a good age and have good MLS experience, and have played and been successful in the league.
Picking up Mapp in the expansion draft was an astute move, according to Jordan.
"Justin Mapp is a proven player in this league. He’s played over 200 games (and) the nice thing with him is you can play him in two or three different positions. He can play on the outside, in an attacking midfield role, and he can play as a second striker. He’s a very versatile players and he’s a very effective player," Jordan explained.
Montreal also pulled off a major coup when they acquired Ricketts in a trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Evan Bush, 25, was the Impact’s starting goalkeeper in its final NASL campaign in 2011 but has never played in MLS. Ricketts, meanwhile, is 34 and was voted the MLS goalkeeper of the year in 2010.
Hardly a surprise, then, that the arrival of the more experienced Ricketts means Bush will be the team’s backup next season.
"Donovan is the number one keeper," Jordan said. "Evan did a great job for us last year and we feel that he and Ricketts are going to form a great partnership. Evan is going to gain a lot by working with Donovan on a daily basis, and it’s going to be instrumental in his development."
Despite the recent flurry of moves the Impact have made in the past two weeks, Jordan feels there are still significant holes to fill on the roster.
"We’re still looking for an influential striker and probably a midfielder; a more of an offensive-minded midfielder that plays higher up the field. Those are our two biggest priorities," Jordan revealed.
One player who could be leaving Montreal is Brian Ching.
Montreal picked the former Houston Dynamo forward first overall in the expansion draft, even after he publically stated he would retire if the Impact selected him. Conventional wisdom suggests the Impact will try to trade Ching, but Jordan affirmed that fans could see the American star in a Montreal uniform next season.
"We certainly have not ruled it out," Jordan said.