It's a bird. It's a plane. It's…Finn Surman?

Maybe he’s not faster than a speeding bullet, but Portland’s breakout center back has proven he sure isn’t slow.

The Portland Timbers have a few candidates for MVP of their six-game unbeaten streak.

Antony and Felipe Mora have scored timely goals. Santiago Moreno has transformed the offense since his return from injury and there is that guy in the net the crowd keeps calling Jimmy Pants.

But one of the most unexpected developments for the Timbers here at the quarter-mark of the season has to be the play of defender Finn Surman. The 21-year-old from New Zealand has found a knack for being in the right place at the right time, with the first-year starting center back currently leading MLS in clearances.

At 6-foot-3, Surman is superb in the air, has long limbs to intercept passes and block shots and, as we learned last week, surprisingly fast.

During Portland’s 3-3 draw with LAFC on Saturday, Surman was tasked with keeping LAFC speedster Denis Bouanga in check — most notably shutting him down early in the first half when the 2023 Golden Boot Award winner chipped a ball over Surman’s head, but couldn’t accelerate past the Portland defender.

Maybe Surman is just far more athletic than the Timbers anticipated when they acquired him from Wellington Phoenix at the end of last season. Maybe it’s a little deception — a player who knows how to work the angles to slow an attacker down.

Assistant coach Liam Ridgewell sees it as a little bit of both.

“You saw him with Bouanga, I was even surprised by that one,” Ridgewell said. “I think what Finn has done really well is he uses his body in really good places to make sure that someone’s got to run around him a long way. You saw Bouanga didn’t have a straight way to the goal and Finn does a good job in putting his body in the right place.

“He’s not slow. I know what slow is as a defender. So he’s not slow.”

Speed? No, it’s not something the Timbers feel like they need Surman to improve upon.

He is, however, far from a finished product — a concept that has Portland’s staff excited as the team looks to improve its unbeaten streak to seven games on Sunday against LA Galaxy.

“I think he’s improving on the ball,” Ridgewell said. “Me and him had a 25-minute conversation after training today about being on the ball and where he needs to pass it and where he needs to go. And he’s developing now… He’s exciting. He’s young and he’s hungry and he’s looking to go on to bigger and better things as well. That’s only a good thing for us.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor