After losing a key player to injury earlier this week, the Columbus Crew have added a piece to their back line in Finland international Jukka Raitala.
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The club announced Friday that it has acquired the outside back as a discovery signing. The left back has more than two dozen caps for Finland and spent the 2016 season with Norwegian side Sogndal.
After starting his career in the Finnish domestic league, Raitala moved to the Bundesliga but never got his career off the ground with Hoffenheim. He eventually settled at Dutch side Heerenveen before moving to the Danish league, then the Norwegian league.
“Jukka joins Columbus Crew SC as a talented defender with significant experience across European topflight clubs and with the Finland National Team,” Crew sporting director and coach Gregg Berhalter said in a news release. “We are pleased to welcome Jukka to Columbus and look forward to integrating him into our system for the 2017 campaign.”
The Crew deployed Corey Ashe and Waylon Francis at left back last season, and also used Hector Jimenez there after Ashe picked up a knee injury and Francis suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The team declined its option on Ashe for the upcoming season.
The back line will look plenty different this season, with the team also trading Michael Parkhurst to Atlanta United and losing Gaston Sauro for 2017 because of knee issues. The Crew also signed homegrown defender Alex Crognale this month.
