David Edgar. There, I said it.

It’s an inescapable name when fans learned Canadian men’s national team centreback Dejan Jakovic signed with Forge FC on Thursday. Jakovic is as direct a replacement as you can get for the two-time CPL Championship-winning defender who retired from play last year… and joined Hamilton’s coaching staff a few weeks ago.

Jakovic, 35, is a fellow Canadian national team stalwart centre-back, played at a high level (42 appearances with LAFC, winning the MLS Supporters Shield in 2018), and is set to bring on-the-field leadership to Hamilton’s side… just as Edgar did when he joined in 2019.

It’s like coach Bobby Smyrniotis just printed and glued the name ‘JAKOVIC’ over Edgar’s spot in the Forge whiteboard at Tim Hortons Field.

Forge has found arguably the closest possible like-for-like replacement for the biggest piece missing from their 2020 Island Games-winning squad – thus making Jakovic one of the biggest off-season pickups seen to date.

In total, Jakovic has played eight seasons in MLS, five of which with D.C. United, while also appearing for Japanese club Shimizu S-Pulse, New York Cosmos of the NASL, and Red Star Belgrade. He was also a consistent-yet-underrated centre-back for Canada’s senior side, logging crucial minutes in the 2009, 2013, and 2017 Gold Cups and even wearing the captain’s armband a handful of times in 2017 and 2018. With this comes experience playing abroad in Concacaf, something Forge will be putting a particular focus on this year in Concacaf League.

The quality is there, which makes him one of the biggest signings of the CPL off-season by any team, but, reading between the lines of this quote from Forge FC camp, his signing fills a much bigger gap than just individual performance on the pitch.

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“Dejan is a proven player with vast experience at the club level and internationally representing Canada,” said Forge FC Director of Football Costa Smyrniotis. “We are looking forward to bringing in a Canadian player with his background and leadership qualities to Hamilton and into our league.”

If you recall, Forge FC’s defense received a fair number of critiques in CPL’s 2019 Spring season despite the fact they continued to win.

Regardless of whether those critiques were valid, there’s no debate Edgar’s leadership at the back improved the side which was largely pulled from Sigma FC in League1 Ontario and midway through their first or maybe second full seasons as professionals.

Jakovic, to CanPL.ca’s knowledge, is the oldest player to ever sign in the CPL in its three-year history. At 35 years old, the Etobicoke, Ont. native is even older than Edgar, who was the club’s eldest in 2020 when he turned 33.

And while his age is a valid criticism, especially for a central defender, it’s hard to look past just how seamless this signing is for the defending champion Hamilton side who has already retained 16 players from its Island Games-winning core. Tack on returning Player of the Year and 2019 standout Tristan Borges and, well, Forge continues to be Forge.

Jakovic’s signing is just another example of that. Forge seamlessly transitioning through tumultuous off-season with another near-perfect signing.

A sneak peek ? #ForgeFC | #CanPL | @DejanJakovic pic.twitter.com/dMhcf1uNAA

— Forge FC (@ForgeFCHamilton) May 13, 2021