No. 4 Merritt Paulson

TUCSON, ARIZONA - Feb 5, 2014 - The Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson talks to players before the game against the Houston Dynamo in Tucson, Ariz., Wed, Feb 5, 2014 as part of their preseason training. Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

The Portland Timbers are expected to be announcing the signing of a full-time head scout in the coming weeks.

While Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson has worked with a network of scouts that the club has hired as contractors in the past, this will be the first time that the Timbers have hired a full-time scout in their MLS era.

"I think we're going to be finalizing that shortly," said Timbers owner Merritt Paulson on the Soccer Made in Portland podcast last week. "We're definitely bringing in a senior scout on the Timbers side, which we've contracted out, but haven't had a full-time position there before."

The Timbers have been pretty successful over the last five years in identifying and signing top international players from abroad.

They signed mainstay Diego Chara during their inaugural 2011 season, brought in Diego Valeri , who has become one of the best players in MLS, ahead of the 2013 season and signed forward Fanendo Adi , who scored 16 goals in 2015, midway through 2014.

Still, the Timbers have recently made a serious commitment to improving player development and identification.

They brought in Larry Sunderland in the offseason to take over as the club's Youth Technical Director and the hiring of a full-time head scout is another indication of Portland's commitment to grow and improve as a club as it looks to continue to vie for MLS Cups.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg