Columbus Crew SC went to Africa for their latest attacking reinforcements.
The club announced on Friday that they'd acquired Democratic Republic of the Congo international Cedrick Mabwati, commonly known as Cedrick, via a transfer with current club Real Betis. Per club and MLS policy, details of the deal were not disclosed. Cedrick will be added to Columbus' roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.
The 22-year attacker has spent his entire professional career playing in Spain. He will spend the remainder of the current European season with second-division side Osasuna, where he is on loan from Betis, before joining the Crew SC this summer.
“Cedrick is a young, versatile player with international experience who can make an impact at any of our four attacking positions,” said sporting director and head coach Gregg Berhalter said in a statement. “He is another player with considerable potential identified by our international scouting network and we look forward to him joining our team this summer.”
Cedrick is currently participating in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with the DR Congo, making appearances in each of his nation's group-stage matches. He appeared as a substitute in DR Congo's opening match against Zambia on January 18, registering an assist. Cedrick then started subsequent matches against Cape Verde (January 22) and Tunisia (January 26), helping the Leopards to three draws in the group and a second-place finish. That effort qualified DR Congo for the quarterfinals, in which they will face Congo on Saturday.
The midfielder will join Crew SC with top-flight experience in La Liga after spending the 2013-14 season with Real Betis, where he made 23 leage appearances. Cedrick also spent four seasons playing in Spain's Segunda Division for CD Numancia and Osasuna, registering 13 goals and 12 assists, including a nine-goal campaign in 2010-11.
