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Columbus Crew Acquire Waylon Francis from Seattle Sounders

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (February 5, 2019) – It was announced mid-day Tuesday that the Columbus Crew have reacquired Costa Rican defender Waylon Francis in exchange for $50,000 in General Allocation Money with Seattle Sounders FC.

Francis, 28, makes his return to Columbus as he enteres his sixth season in MLS. During that time he has recorded 94 regular-season appearances (80 starts) and 19 assists.

Columbus Crew Acquire Waylon Francis from Seattle Sounders 

We are pleased to welcome Waylon back to the club,” said club president Tim Bezbatchenko.

“In Waylon, we gain a talented, MLS veteran who adds strong versatility and who knows what it takes to compete in this League as well as at the National Team level.”

“His familiarity with the organization will be beneficial as we re-incorporate him back into this roster and we look forward to his contributions as we prepare for the upcoming season.” 

Waylon Francis MLS Career

Francis played for Seattle during the 2018 MLS regular season. In that time he made 11 appearances (five starts) and providing one assist.

Before joining the Sounders he spent four seasons with the Black and Gold from 2014-2017. The Costa Rican international also made three appearances during the 2017-2018 CONCACAF Champions League.

Francis joined Crew SC just before the 2014 season and made appearances in 24 matches (all starts) while assisting six times that year.

In 2015, Francis made an MLS career-high 28 regular-season appearances (all starts) to go with seven assists — another MLS career high for a defender — which helped Columbus book a trip to MLS Cup 2015 where they hosted the Portland Timbers.

Crew SC would lose 2-1.

He also earned a spot on the 2015 MLS All-Star squad.

2016, Francis made 19 regular-season appearances for the Black and Gold, tallying up three assists, following up the next year with 12 appearances (10 starts) and recording two assists.

International Level

Waylon Francis earned six caps with the Costa Rica National team. He recently started in an International Friendly game against the United States Men’s National Team, where the game was held at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California on February 2 of this year.

Most notably, Francis was a member of the Costa Rican FIFA World Cup team that made the quarterfinals in 2014.

What Will Be His Role?

Well, there was speculation that Francis could provide depth at the left back position. Jacob Meyers of the Columbus Dispatch broke news as to why the acquisition was made.

Columbus opens their 2019 MLS campaign March 2 against New York Red Bulls. 

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