The boys are back. Vancouver Whitecaps FC return to training this week at the National Soccer Development Centre, officially kicking off their 2018 preseason camp. Throughout the week, whitecapsfc.com has been looking at the different storylines to watch as the ‘Caps prepare for March 4.

It seems crazy to fathom, but Alphonso Davies is entering his third season as a professional.

Yes, you read that right.

It seems like just yesterday a wide-eyed 15-year-old that no one had heard of was invited to preseason with the first-team before earning a contract with WFC2 and ultimately the MLS side.

And here we are, two years later.

Davies now has 48 appearances under his belt for Whitecaps FC in all competitions. At 17 years old, he’s still one of the youngest players in MLS – and certainly one of the league’s most promising talents.

Last year, Davies showed well in the preseason and earned himself a starting spot to begin the season. Can he do so again in 2018? That will be one of the storylines to watch over the next month as Whitecaps FC prepare for their season opener on March 4 against Montreal Impact.

“He’s come in, he’s fit, he’s obviously got a 10-day start on the rest of the guys because he’s been in with Canada and played in two friendly games,” Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson told reporters this week. “The expectations will still be the same for me. Obviously we all want to see him play, we all want to see him produce. He’s got to produce that extra little bit of quality in the final third added to what he’s already got.”

Since joining the club, Davies has scored goals in the United Soccer League, Canadian Championship, CONCACAF Champions League, and most recently for the Canadian men’s national team.

This year, he’s hoping to cross one last competition off the list.

“He said to me, he wants to score more goals,” Robinson told whitecapsfc.com. “And I genuinely believe he should score more goals. He’s yet to open his MLS account. And every time he’s played for me, he’s said today is going to be the day boss. And I’m still waiting.”

“Hopefully he’ll score a number of goals this year because I believe he can,” Robinson continued. “He’s got tremendous ability and huge upside, but I still want people to be cautious with him. He will play a number of games, but don’t expect too much. Allow him to develop at his own speed. If you try and fast-track players, you can actually set them back and it’s important we don’t do that.”

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