French Defender Aurelien Collin Sporting KC's Newest International Import

Way back in yester-year, December 7 of last year to be exact, I started a little Internet rumor about a player that Sporting Kansas City were trying to sign. On Tuesday morning, Sporting KC president Robb Heineman announced via Twitter, as he usually does, that we should all welcome Aurelien Collin to Sporting KC today. Collin is a 25-year old defender from France, someone the team has been working to bring in for a long while.

In my mind, this is a player to get excited about.

Details are still very limited, as the team has yet to give any official word on whether the player has been signed or when he is joining the team. As I stated back in December, he is still currently under contract with his current club, Vitória Futebol Clube, until the end of the 2011 European season, though Heineman and technical director/head coach Peter Vermes have recently said that they were working on players with complicated contract situations.

The great thing about Collin, other than his age and the fact that he will likely start for the team soon after joining, is that he can play not only the centerback position, but either fullback with varying degrees on success, but preferably on the right.

While details are still limited, it's a curious case that while he was playing so well for his current club Vitória to start the season, he hasn't appeared in a game for the club since January 22. It's all speculation right now, but perhaps the club had been working to finalize a deal, he could have been injured, or one of many other possibilities.

As for where Collin fits into the squad, personally, he goes straight to the top of the list of centerbacks for me. Matt Besler and Julio Cesar Santos looked a bit shaky on Saturday night, yes, but Collin leap-frogs them, for me, simply because he is flat-out good. Also, with leftback Roger Espinoza potentially missing a month this summer for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, he could get some time at leftback, too.

We'll have all the details on the potential signing and the player himself, as they become available...