Charlie Hatch | chatch@enquirer.com

Mark Wert/The Enquirer

Shae Combs

Forward Emery Welshman signed with Futbol Club Cincinnati on Wednesday afternoon, the club announced. Welshman is the team's 12th signing and first in the 2018 calendar year.

Standing 5-foot-11, the 26-year-old played for Puerto Rico FC last season, where he finished with five goals and three assists for the North American Soccer League club.

“Emery has exceptional pace and a nose for goal,” Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch said in a press release. “He is a player who has had a few setbacks with injury, but when at his best, he has the ability to play in MLS. He has not peaked yet and we look forward to working with him to help achieve mutual goals."

Koch's comments about a transition into Major League Soccer are intriguing, especially as FC Cincinnati awaits news from the league to learn its expansion fate. If the club joins MLS, it's clear that Welshman would make the promotion up to first tier soccer, too.

While originally from Canada, Welshman plays on the Guyana national team and scored twice in this past round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He's made six caps for the South American country. (Guyana plays in CONCACAF, which is the North American and Caribbean region of international soccer.)

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"He is a fantastic citizen and will fit in fantastically with the group that we are putting in place for 2018," Koch said.

Following a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the first round of the United Soccer League Playoffs, Koch said he wanted to rebuild his roster ahead of the 2018 season. Only three players are rostered from the squad that competed in the inaugural 2016 campaign. He mentioned 24 players as the ideal squad size.

After Welshman's arrival, the club now has 21 players on its roster ahead of a preseason that starts within the next two weeks.

Updated 2018 roster

*indicates an offseason signing

Goalkeepers: Spencer Richey*, Mark Village*

Defenders: Matt Bahner, Justin Hoyte, Sem de Wit, Garrett Halfhill, Josu, Paddy Barrett*, Dekel Keinan*, Forrest Lasso*

Midfielders: Kenney Walker, Corben Bone, Jimmy McLaughlin, Will Seymore*, Tyler Gibson*, Lance Laing*