Columbus Crew SC have added to their backline with the deadline-day addition of Argentine Gaston Sauro from Swiss champions FC Basel.
The 25-year-old defender – who played the 2014-15 season on loan at Italian Serie B side Catania – was a Discovery Signing acquired using Targeted Allocation Money, and will be officially added to the Crew SC roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa.
Sauro has made 110 lifetime professional appearances, scoring four goals and adding one assist. Prior to moving to Basel, where he played two full seasons from 2012-2014, he played four seasons in his native Argentina for Boca Juniors. The 6-foot-3 center back brings a winning pedigree to Crew SC, having capture two Swiss Super League titles with Basel and an Argentine Primera Division with Boca. He also boasts experience in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and was part of the Boca team that reached the final of the 2012 Copa Libertadores.
“Gaston Sauro has an interesting profile with the amount of experience he has at such a young age. We’ve watched him at FC Basel, and knowing that they play a very similar system to ours, we feel that the transition will be less difficult,” said Crew SC sporting director and head coach Gregg Berhalter in a statement provided by the team. “Gaston is an aggressive defender, yet technically sound, and he is able to play out of the back. We think the combination of size and his technical ability will be a good fit into the way we play.”
