One center back leaves, another enters the frame for the Colorado Rapids.
After selling 21-year-old defender Shane O'Neill to Apollon Limassol, the Rapids announced they signed former Orlando City SC defender Sean St Ledger on Friday.
St Ledger was recently waived by the Lions after a "serious breach of club policy."
The Irish international had been a regular starter for Orlando City SC before his departure, featuring in 15 MLS games for Adrian Heath’s side this season, amassing a total of 1,213 minutes.
“Sean is an important addition to our roster,” said Paul Bravo in a release, VP of Soccer Operations and Technical Director. “He has leadership skills and experience having played at a very high standard in English football, in addition to a long career with the Irish national team. Also he has had half-a-season in MLS so he will complement our existing squad. We are sure he’ll make a valuable contribution at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.”
In international football, St Ledger has amassed 37 caps for Ireland, scoring three goals. He made his debut against Nigeria in May 2009 and scored his first international goal against Italy in a World Cup qualification game the following October.
He arrived in MLS in 2015 after 12 years in English football, the vast majority in The Championship. The center back appeared in 199 games for Preston North End and, most notably, scored the goal that took them to The Championship playoff semi-final in 2009. He also made 79 appearances for Peterborough and a further 44 for Leicester City under manager Nigel Pearson.
St Ledger joins Bobby Burling, Drew Moor, Jared Watts, Joseph Greenspan and Axel Sjoberg on the Rapids center back depth chart.
