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Harjeet Johal ,

January 15, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Vancouver Whitecaps have stepped up and made a significant addition to the back-four with their latest acquisition. Uruguayan centre-back Diego Rodriguez will join the Whitecaps this season on a one-year loan from Club Atlético Juventud de Las Piedras. The 24 year-old defender has previously played in La Liga with Malaga CF and current Whitecaps skipper Pedro Morales. The 6'2 and left-footed Rodriguez is excited about his new opportunity that awaits him in Vancouver. "I’d just like to tell the fans that I'm very grateful to be given the opportunity to come play in Vancouver. I want to let fans know that I'm ready to go and help the team right away both on and off the field." Rodriguez should have no problem fitting in with his new teammates as the Whitecaps roster features fellow Uruguayans Nicolas Mezquida and new striker Octavio Rivero. The abundance of Spanish-speaking players should help both Rodriguez and Rivero feel more comfortable as they adjust to MLS and playing in Canada for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Rodriguez talked about the Whitecaps current roster. "Having some Latinos on the team will be a good thing because it’ll help me adjust to the city, the team, the culture, the way things are. It will be nice to help settle in." Carl Robinson and the Whitecaps organization locked eyes on Diego Rodriguez last summer when they went looking for potential replacements after the retirement of Jay DeMerit. It was only during the current transfer period that the Whitecaps were able to acquire Rodriguez on loan. Robinson was delighted to talk about the Whitecaps newest addition during a conference call with the media. "Excellent signing for us. He’s got experience in Europe. He was over there for two years at Malaga. Manuel Pellegrini had recruited him. On my South American trip, I obviously identified him and we’re delighted to have him on board. He’s left-sided, he’s 6 foot 2, he’s a good talker and obviously he’s got a good presence about him as well. His footwork is excellent, his positioning, his stepping, his dropping … he’s a defender. He loves clearing balls and putting himself in situations to block the ball. It’s one of the hardest positions to find and he has a huge upside with being young as well … it’s my belief and my coaches belief that Diego was too good to pass on." The Whitecaps currently have three centre-backs under contract with Kendall Waston, Christian Dean and now Rodriguez. Carl Robinson believes you can never have enough centre-backs and he would like to add at least one or two more before the Whitecaps preseason matches take place in February. "Ideally, I’d like to have five centre backs on my roster. I know it’s a very long season and there will be injuries and suspensions. I've got three. The minimum I will require is four, but there’s a very, very good chance that there will be five centre backs coming into preseason." The penny has finally dropped, and in the case of Andy O'Brien not enough pennies. The Vancouver Whitecaps stalwart veteran central defender will not be returning to the club for the 2015 season. A contractual disagreement is believed to have ended O'Brien's MLS tenure with Vancouver. Reports suggest the former Irish international was asked to take a 50% pay reduction. Carl Robinson discussed the departure of O'Brien. "We’ve had very, very good discussions with Andy, but unfortunately we’ve been unable to come to an agreement. We’re going to be moving in a different direction now and Andy is exploring things over in Europe at the moment … we have to be a club that moves forward at some time and probably the time is now for us. We did try to come to an agreement but we unfortunately weren't able to." Johnny Leveron's future with the Vancouver Whitecaps continues to be murky. The Whitecaps hold the central defender's MLS rights and currently both sides have not come to a mutual contract agreement for the upcoming season. Leveron is training with his former club Motagua in Honduras, while Robinson hasn't completely closed the door on bring him back. "We’re still speaking to Johnny at the moment. Obviously we’re going to have 40+ games next year and I want to build a strong squad. If that’s with Johnny, great. If not with Johnny, we’ll move on. We’re in talks with him and his agent but we’re not very close on agreeing on anything at the moment. So we’re keeping our options open." The Whitecaps defense was among the best in MLS last season. The new shift taking place within the back-four will certainly provide excitement for fans as players look to form some chemistry during training camp and preseason. Andy O'Brien was a huge fan favourite on and off the pitch, Rodriguez will have big boots to fill and Carl Robinson wouldn't have brought him in if he wasn't up for the task. Notes: Whitecaps striker Darren Mattocks is currently training with Allsvenskan club IFK Goteborg in Antalya, Turkey. He is expected to return to Vancouver for the start of training camp next weekend.