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New York City signs D Andrés Mendoza

The Ecuadorian defender was briefly linked with NYC last year.

Andres Mendoza with Universidad Católica
Andres Mendoza with Universidad Católica

It's the first Monday of 2015, so let's take a break from the unending Frank Lampard saga - about which more anon - and instead talk about the newest New York City signing. From all the attention everyone's been paying to Lampard, you'd think he was the only player under contract, but no; we have, as of today, fifteen players ready to rock New York City's sky blue.*

Meet Andrés Mendoza.

Mendoza, 25, is a 6'2" central defender. According to people who've actually seen him play, he's good in the air and fairly skilled at passing. Given that New York City will be looking to build play from the back, that's probably a good thing. He's played for seven teams in Ecuador; his most recent team there was Universidad Católica in Quito. He then transferred in September of last year to Deportivo Maldonado in the Uruguayan second division.

If his name seems familiar, it's because word of him hooking up with New York City came out around the same time, with the player saying "It'll be really nice over there, and I hope to do good things." At the time, New York City refused to comment, and most folks dismissed the report as the kind of usual random international transfer chatter.

Turns out there was something to that, after all.

Mendoza will be joining a back line that features Jason Hernandez and Chris Wingert. He'll likely battle for playing time with Jeb Brovsky, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, and George John, but don't be surprised if he's a First Kick starter. Mendoza does bring a bit of flair to the back, and Jason Kreis' Salt Lake teams were noted for that.

* Yes, if you count Frank Lampard, there's sixteen players. But from every piece of evidence we've been able to discover so far, he's a Manchester City player, regardless of what the official website says.