Sporting KC signs veteran Portuguese defender Nuno André Coelho

On Thursday, a day before Sporting Kansas City departed for its preseason training camp in Tucson, Ariz., coach Peter Vermes spent half an hour examining his 2016 roster with members of the media. Asked if he was comfortable with his central defender situation, Vermes shook his head, adding, “Our roster is not finished yet.”

An upgrade came Tuesday.

Sporting KC agreed to terms with 30-year-old Portuguese defender Nuno André Coelho, a 12-year veteran in Europe, pending receipt of his international transfer certificate and P-1 Visa. Coelho will occupy an international roster spot.

“Our intention during the offseason has been to add players to each of our lines,” Vermes said. “Nuno comes to us with a tremendous amount of experience and adds another dimension to how we want to play as a team.”

Coelho, a 6-foot-4 center back, played more than 160 matches during his career in Europe, which featured seven appearances in the UEFA Champions League. During the 2014-15 season, he played for Balikesirspor of the Turkish Super Lig.

He made his professional debut when he was 18 years old, playing for a reserve club in Portugal. He worked his way through the pipeline of the Portugal Under-20 and Under-21 teams, including four appearances at the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada.

Coelho has joined Sporting KC for its training camp in Tucson.

“This is a club with a very good reputation, and I think it will be a perfect fit for me,” he said in a statement.

He figures to battle for a starting position for Sporting KC, which already has captain Matt Besler, Ike Opara, Kevin Ellis and Erik Palmer-Brown on its central defender depth chart.

Coelho, who is right-footed, primarily plays right center back. Besler and Opara started 2015 as the top central-defender pairing, with Opara on the right side before he suffered a season-ending Achilles’ injury in April. Ellis took over for the remainder of the year.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Sporting KC signs veteran Portuguese defender Nuno André Coelho."