Minnesota United is poised to sign veteran midfielder Ozzie Alonso, a source confirmed to the Pioneer Press.

The move, which was first reported Monday afternoon by MLSsoccer.com, is “likely to be done,” the source said, with an announcement expected early this week.

FC Cincinnati, an expansion franchise entering Major League Soccer this season, was reported to be the frontrunner for Alonso until the Loons emerged this week. Cincinnati made a “strong two-year offer” to Alonso, MLSsoccer.com reported Thursday.

Alonso, a 33-year-old Cuban, was a captain and 10-year mainstay for the Seattle Sounders and helped take the perennial playoff team to a MLS Cup championship in 2016. Alonso was injured and missed seven of the first 11 games in the 2018 season, but played the final 15 matches and in the Western Conference semifinals against Portland.

Alonso is Seattle’s all-time leader with 277 games played. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft before last season and became a free agent after the 2018 season. He earned $1.1 million in total compensation in 2018, according to MLS player’s union salary information. It’s unclear how much he would earn with Minnesota.

Alonso would be an experienced defensive midfielder to pair with Jan Gregus, United’s new Designated Player recently signed from FC Copenhagen. Gregus showed an ability to attack in Denmark’s top league and with the Slovakian national team, a freedom that could be afforded with the expected addition of Alonso. Alonso would then be asked to sit in front of the back line of defenders and snuff out opposing scoring threats earlier, as well as one of the first conduits to start their own attacks.

Minnesota United’s third-year head coach Adrian Heath would have the flexibility to put both Alonso and Gregus together as a double pivot of No. 6 defensive midfielders or push Gregus higher up the pitch as a No. 8, or box-to-box midfielder.

With Gregus and now Alonso, the Loons have continued to address a glaring gap on the field since Sam Cronin suffered head and neck injuries at the end of the 2017 season and was re-injured during the 2018 preseason. The Loons used a patchwork of players to fill that spot in 2018, and without finding a capable regular, they gave up 71 goals, which is one of the worst defensive performances in MLS history.

Alonso first signed with Cuban club Pinar del Rio in 2005 and made 42 appearances before defecting from the country in 2007. In 2008, he joined the Charleston Battery, of the lower U.S. level United Soccer League, and played in 23 games before going to Seattle.