Ottawa loves a good goalie controversy.

Hello Senators Goalie Graveyard.

But if you thought Ottawa Fury FC going out and signing a new top keeper was going to complicate things for the club with three keepers already under contract, the head coach doesn't see it that way.

Many were surprised Wednesday when Marc Dos Santos and the club announced the signing of French goalkeeper Romuald Peiser, who has spent the last six seasons in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. After all, Devala Gorrick played every minute in goal for Fury FC in the spring season.

"No, I don't see, for now, (any) complications"," Dos Santos said Thursday.

The coach has never been shy about saying he would make any necessary moves he believed would improve the club. While the coach said Thursday the club hadn't actively been seeking another goalkeeper, he wasn't happy with the club surrendering 13 goals in nine NASL matches in the spring and promised he would work to remedy that. His first move was bringing defender Ryan Richter in on loan from Toronto FC, and when Peiser became available, Dos Santos said he was worried he'd regret not making a pitch for him.

"I want to make this team better every day," Dos Santos told the Sun after training at TD Place Thursday. "If the team is a six (out of 10), well for me that's not good enough. If I can make this club a seven, an eight or a nine, I'm here for that."

The transfer window opened in Europe Tuesday and a decision had to be made quickly on whether to sign Peiser, who has played in France, Germany, Romania and Portugal during his career.

Gorrick was reportedly shocked by the signing but politely declined to address the move Thursday, saying he wanted to let the news sink in.

Asked if the 34-year-old Peiser was here to be the go-to keeper on the team, it wasn't hard to read between the lines of Dos Santos' reponse.

"You have to look at the four and you have to look at where they've been," he said. "That may lean you (towards) an answer but at the end of they day it's here on the field (where that decision is made)."

Peiser, for his part, is excited to be in Ottawa -- just his second time to Canada if you count a trip to Toronto 15 years ago -- and said it was hearing about the team Dos Santos was building that made him decide to leave the Portuguese league.

"I'm very happy, it was a long trip to come here but I'm very happy to be (here)," said the native of Phalsbourg, France.

Peiser played more than 10,000 minutes in 112 games splits between Naval and Academico of the Primeria Liga, but wouldn't get into specifics about his expectations were for his role in Ottawa.

"I'm only part of the project, so the coach makes the decision," he said. "I'm (here) to work. If he thinks I'm ready to play, I play."

Dos Santos said he doesn't mind carrying four keepers for the time being.

"For now yes, but in the longer term no, it's not something I want to do," he said.

HAMZA HEADED HOME

Dos Santos called the decision to release young Ghanain midfielder Hamza Elias "heartbreaking" but necessary.

The team had to free up a foreign roster spot and Elias only saw minimal action with the club in the spring season.

The midfielder was seen as something of a project this season, the one player the staff knew the least about. Without a reserve team to give him playing time, Dos Santos said he wanted to give Elias a chance to make the starting squad out of camp. But with that part of the pitch likely the team's strongest and deepest, that proved difficult.

"We feel we have one of the best midfields in the league," said Dos Santos, adding the eventual return of injured midfielder Nicki Paterson would have knocked Elias further down the depth chart.

"For a foreigner to be the fourth or fifth choice -- yeah, he's going to come in for 15 minutes here and there, but it's not enough for a foreigner."

Dos Santos said had Elias been a Canadian-born player, he would have kept him on the roster. League rules permit only seven non-North Anericans per team.

"Our foreign players have to have a very good chance of starting," the coach said.

SIDELINES

Fury FC leaves Saturday to kick off the NASL fall season in Edmonton against the Eddies ... The club is confident somewhere in the neighbourhood of 13,000 people will attend the Fury's first home game July 20 against New York ... Dos Santos said the club is close to signing a new goalkeeper coach to fill the position vacated by David Bellemare at the end of the spring campaign. The coach is hopeful the deal will be finalized by next week ... The Fury's visibility got a boost during a huge open house event at TD Place Wednesday night, thanks to back-to-back introductions of both the RedBlacks and Fury. Some people still don't seem to know there's a pro soccer club in town now ... Fury FC played an inter squad game Wednesday morning, which included up and coming Fury Academy player Jacob Schroeter. The young player didn't seem out of place alongside the NASL group.

chris.hofley@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @chrishofley