The Seattle Sounders Football Club announced the signing of 31-year-old Austrian international Andreas Ivanschitz in a press release on Tuesday morning. Ivanschitz joins the club on a free transfer after spending the last few seasons in La Liga with Levante UD, the same club in which Seattle signed Obafemi Martins from back in March 2013.

Seattle General Manager and President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey said in the team release, “Andreas is a skilled and dynamic player that has proven his abilities in some of Europe’s top domestic leagues and at the international level. We’re excited to bring him to Seattle and help him integrate into our attack as we head toward the stretch run of our season.”

As Lagerway alluded to, Ivanschitz has played in many of the top leagues in Europe. That includes stops in Greece with Panathinaikos, Germany with FSC Mainz 05, and most recently with Levante in Spain. He brings a good amount of international experience with 69 caps for the Austrian National Team as well as appearances in the UEFA Champions League with Rapid Vienna and Panathinaikos.

It seems as though Seattle had been keeping an eye on Ivanschitz for a while now as he was officially signed as a discovery player. Sporting Director Chris Henderson confirmed that the team had been following Ivanschitz for a while adding that he “has the technical ability to help break down teams with his passing and movement in the attacking third.”

After this signing was confirmed, this writer asked VAVEL USA soccer correspondent Juan Pablo Aravena for his analysis on Andreas Ivanschitz. JP said, “He's a serviceable midfielder, however, and he has loads of international experience so that should be quite a plus for the Sounders. He can play wide, behind the two strikers and he can also operate as a central midfielder - that's the role where he excels as he's adept to come from behind to support the attacking lines. He actually played a lot for Levante last year: 20 games with one goal and three assists. Those numbers should go up with Sounders, for sure. In short: quality signing. He and Alonso could form a nasty pairing in midfield.”

It will be very interesting to see where Ivanschitz will line up. He could slide into the left midfielder role for the time being as Marco Pappa deals with his off-field issues. Though with the recent hamstring injury picked up by Osvaldo Alonso, he could line up next to Gonzalo Pineda in the central midfield.

The Seattle Sounders return to the field on Wednesday night as they start their CONCACAF Champions League campaign against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place.