What might be the final major piece of Crew SC's retooled roster heading into the new season will be in place on Friday.

Norwegian forward Ola Kamara is expected to join the Crew in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday night, coach Gregg Berhalter said.

Ola Kamara –no relation to Kei – is a Norwegian who signed with Crew SC two weeks ago. The 26-year-old has been a prolific scorer in Norway but has struggled elsewhere in Europe. He scored 14 goals in 29 games for Molde of the Norwegian top division last year.

With the Crew, he is expected to be...

What might be the final major piece of Crew SC�s retooled roster heading into the new season will be in place on Friday.

Norwegian forward Ola Kamara is expected to join the Crew in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday night, coach Gregg Berhalter said.

Ola Kamara –no relation to Kei – is a Norwegian who signed with Crew SC two weeks ago. The 26-year-old has been a prolific scorer in Norway but has struggled elsewhere in Europe. He scored 14 goals in 29 games for Molde of the Norwegian top division last year.

With the Crew, he is expected to be one of two forward options coming off the bench behind Kei Kamara, along with Conor Casey.

While Casey will provide a beefy option up front, Ola Kamara will play a role �similar to Jack (McInerney) with movement behind the line,� Berhalter said.

Ola Kamara is not expected to play against Real Salt Lake in the Crew�s second preseason game on Saturday but should be available to play in one or both of the Crew�s final two exhibition games next week.

By then, Berhalter will be setting lineups with an eye toward the MLS opener on March 6 at Portland.

Assessment will shift to preparation.

�It�s going to happen soon,� Berhalter said in a conference call with reporters earlier today. � We�re working towards that now. Next Wednesday (against the USL Swope Park Rangers) you�ll start to see a more solidified lineup. We know we�ll have two games left until the opener. That�s going to come.�

Berhalter used two separate lineups of 11 players on during a 2-2 tie with Kansas City last night. Ola Kamara was one of five players in camp who did not play in either half.

Two of them are dealing with injuries. Berhalter said midfielder Justin Meram (offseason hernia surgery) returned to full training today and could play on Saturday. Midfielder Ben Swanson (concussion) was limited in training today but could be full-on next week.

The others – trialist goalkeeper Matt Pacifici and unsigned draft pick Marshall Hollingsworth – are expected to play on Saturday.

Pacifici, Hollingsworth and second-round pick Chase Minter remain unsigned. They could stay that way, Berhalter said, though it bodes well that all three have lasted this long. But Berhalter indicated that he would be OK entering the season with fewer than 27 players on the roster. The Crew has 24 players under contract.

Crew Cuts

--Another TV deal tidbit: Was told that WBNS (Ch. 10) was approached by the Crew but talks never progressed as far as they did with Media General-owned Ch. 4 (WCMH) and the Sinclair-operated group that includes Chs. 6, 28 and 53.

--Minter assisted the first of two goals scored by Kei Kamara last night. The former Cal-Poly midfielder replaced Federico Higuain in the Crew�s playmaking spot at the start of the second half.

--Here�s Berhalter on Minter, who was selected with the first pick of the second round (No. 21 overall) in last month�s SuperDraft: �That�s the good thing about Chase. He�s very comfortable when he�s around the goal. I think he did a good job in his first game. We�re going to continue to evaluate him and hopefully he is going to keep improving.�

--Kei Kamara has met with Berhalter roughly once a week during the preseason to discuss an enhanced contract. Kamara is entering the second year of a three-year deal and is angling for a significant and unscheduled pay bump. Berhalter has repeatedly declined to discuss specifics of a negotiating process that is approaching a month in length, but said he has been pleased with Kamara�s on-field performance. �He�s doing a great job,� Berhalter said. �It�s business as usual.� Kamara has said that he wants the situation resolved before the start of the season.

--Swanson, an 18-year-old Grove City homegrown, seems likely to wind up with the Crew�s USL affiliate in Pittsburgh, perhaps for the entire season. Berhalter said he would prefer that any players loaned to Pittsburgh remain there for season-long, full-time stints.

--Shawn Mitchell

smitchell@dispatch.com

@smitchcd