The Columbus Crew continued to revamp the roster at both ends on Tuesday by announcing the signing of Brazilian center back Gláuber Berti, who could start alongside captain Chad Marshall, as well as selecting three players in the Supplemental Draft ready to battle in order to make the club.
Glauber, 29, is the first of what could be several key acquisitions this week.
Crew coach Robert Warzycha (above) told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday that there will definitely be one more signing and likely at least two.
The team is targeting additions at left back and forward and have also shown a renewed interest in obtaining Argentine holding midfielder Matías Sánchez since releasing midfielder Milovan Mirosevic on Sunday.
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"With [Mirosevic] gone, we now have some money so we can search," Warzycha said. "We aren't done shopping yet. We're definitely looking at Sánchez. He's a good defensive center midfielder. He's playing in a good league and he's relatively young. That would be somebody who would definitely help in the middle of the field."
For the first time, Warzycha hinted that one of the potential signees is not a foreigner.
"We may sign a player who is not an international player," he said. "He plays outside the US, but he is American."
Meanwhile, Gláuber has extensive overseas experience, having most recently made 46 appearances for Rapid Bucharest of the Romanian first division over the past three years.
Prior to that he was with English Premier League club Manchester City, where he made just one first-team appearance. He also had stops with FC Nürnberg – 51 games in the German Bundesliga – and Brazilian clubs Palmeiras and Clube Atlético Mineiro.
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Warzycha said Gláuber could join the Crew as soon as Saturday in Bradenton, Fla.
There could be other new faces as well after right back Reed Matte from Alabama-Birmingham, Marshall University goalkeeper Daniel Whitworth and midfielder Shawn Sloan from High Point University were taken in the Supplemental Draft.
"Reed is very athletic," Warzycha said. "He will provide some competition at right back. Whitworth is very sound fundamentally. Obviously, he is a project. Shawn is aggressive and has some speed. We'll give him a chance.
"In the preseason, we have a lot of games, so there will be opportunities to see who makes the team."
