Sources: Defender Finn Linder set to sign for Wanderers
Former Vancouver Whitecaps centre-back Finn Linder is set to sign a multi-year deal for the Halifax Wanderers, sources told HFX Football Post on Monday.
Linder, 21, came up through the Whitecaps academy in Calgary before moving to Vancouver in 2020, where he played under the guidance of current Wanderers head coach and general manager Vanni Sartini. The defender, who grew up in Alberta but represented New Zealand as a youth international, including at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, officially signed with Whitecaps 2 in 2022 and went on to register 44 MLS Next Pro appearances. He also spent time with the Whitecaps first-team, making his debut in Leagues Cup in 2024; he became a free agent at the end of 2025.
Linder and Sartini are well-acquainted; the Italian gaffer values the defender's size (6-foot-4 / 193 cm), tenacity in the air and ability to move the ball. Given Sartini's historical preference for a back three, and Linder being familiar playing as one of the outside centre-backs, the signing provides the former Whitecaps boss with a trusted option for either a left or right-sided centre-back as he builds his squad.
The Wanderers previously announced that they'd triggered club options for Jefferson Alphonse and Kareem Sow, meaning Sartini will have a plethora of options with Linder in the mix to play with stalwart defender Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.
With training camp slated to start in February, it'll be interesting to see how Sartini deploys his defenders and if, like Patrice Gheisar before him, he opts to push Alphonse, Sow or both to wing-back positions. The club will need to make several more signings to fill out their roster as they only have 13 players, which includes Linder, under contract.
Photo Credit: Vancouver Whitecaps FC
