Alexander Ring joins New York City FC

New York City FC have announced the signing of Finnish midfielder Alexander Ring from Kaiserslautern.

The 25-year-old was recruited using Targeted Allocation Money and head coach Patrick Vieira clearly has high hopes for the Finland international.

“At 25, Alexander is a player entering his peak years who has played at a high level over a number of seasons,” Vieira said.

“He’s a midfielder who can contribute on both sides of the game, both defensively and offensively and he gives us another great option either at the base of midfield or box-to-box.

“Alexander has a good engine and is a competitive player which should suit Major League Soccer.”

Ring spent the majority of his career in Germany, representing Lannesdorf, Bayer Leverkusen, Anderlecht and Helsinki in his youth days, before he started his professional career in Finland.

The talented footballer moved back to Bundesliga in 2012 as he joined Borussia M’gladbach on loan, and he went on to sign on permanent basis at Kaiserslautern a year later.

Ring enjoyed several successful years playing in Germany’s second division, scoring 8 goals in 76 outings for the club, but he didn’t think twice when the opportunity to move to the MLS presented itself.

New York City FC had earlier signed Peruvian defender Alexander Callens from Numancia, but Andrea Pirlo, David Villa and Andoni Iraola remain their star players.