Sporting Kansas City adds Marcel de Jong

Marcel de Jong played with the Sporting Kansas City first team for the latter half of the preseason, and now he's an official part of the roster. Sporting KC agreed to terms with the defender and he will join the team pending receipt of his ICT and P-1 visa.

"I am happy to be here and I am looking forward to a great season with Sporting Kansas City," de Jong said in a press release. "I hope that we can do well and achieve our goals."

De Jong is a Dutch-Canadian international that has represented Canada on the international level since 2007 and has made 31 appearances. He is most recently from FC Augsburg, a German Bundesliga club that he played with for five years before him and the club mutually terminated his contract in January 2015. The 31-year-old was unhappy with his role as a reserve.

It is unknown if he will be available to play for Sporting Kansas City in their March 8 opener against New York Red Bulls, since his ICT and P-1 Visa need to be received. There is also a question of where he would play. If the preseason lineups were any indication, he could be granted a started job on the left side over Seth Sinovic.

This move increases Sporting KC's roster size to 27 players and de Jong will occupy and international spot. Sporting has six slots taken with two open for further moves if they decide to pursure any other international players.