© Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

There isn’t a soul who can say they would have predicted the Vancouver Whitecaps to zero in on 32-year-old Scottish midfielder Stuart Armstrong as the final summer signing ahead of the MLS Cup Playoff push. But nonetheless, the former Southampton man has already begun to find a home in the Pacific Northwest.

Last season Armstrong helped Southampton earn promotion to the Premier League before departing the club at the end of his contract, but the midfielder is now tasked with helping a Vancouver team showing plenty of promising signs to take the next step in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Speaking ahead of the Whitecaps big-time showdown with Western Conference leaders LA Galaxy at the weekend, Armstrong opened up on the surprise move to Vancouver.

“That was part of the choice of choosing the next club carefully, if it fit the family and how we would settle in,” Armstrong said. “We’re so far away from home, but obviously, there’s no language barrier here, apart from a few words! But that was obviously a huge thing.

“The city, I think everyone who I’ve ever spoken to talked about how nice the city was. But you don’t realize until you’re here how nice it is, how unique it is, how blended it is with nature, ocean and city life. It’s a pretty cool place.”

But on the pitch, Armstrong was simply looking for a new type of challenge.

“The ultimate ambition of mine was to try something new,” he said. “Being 32 feels slightly older in the football world. So I think it was important for me to try something new, to get a change.

“I didn’t exactly know what that was going to be or what that actually looked like. It was more of a feeling. And when Vancouver popped up, and I got a little bit excited about it, about the new challenge and something completely different.”