On Tuesday, Philadelphia Union announced the acquisition of Portugal’s Primeira Liga’s Belenenses goalkeeper Matt Jones via loan. Jones has a United States Permanent Resident Card and will, thus, not hold one of the Union’s international spots. The 29-year-old holds dual citizenship in the United States and England as he was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England.

“Matt’s experience and ability in big games will be a key asset to this goalkeeping group,” Union Sporting Director Earnie Stewart said in a press release. “We will count on him to become an immediate contributor, both in terms of his mentoring ability for our younger keepers, but also for his pure shot-stopping abilities.”

Jones' Path to MLS

Jones has been in Portugal since 2009, when he signed his first professional contract with C.D. Santa Clara, where he played up until 2011. Since joining Belenenses in 2012, Jones has racked up 89 appearances with 35 clean sheets as well as a 1.07 goals against average. For the 2015-2016 season, he was loaned to CD Tondela, where he made 10 appearances. In 10 appearances, Jones conceded 14 goals and kept one clean sheet.

The six feet, three-inch goalkeeper, before playing in Portugal, attended Sacred Heart University in the United States, where he was twice First Team All- Northeast Conference (NEC) as well as once Second Team All-NEC as a freshman. As a youth, Jones was part of the Port Vale Youth Academy as well as spent time with West Bromwich Albion.

Jones Brings Depth to Goalkeeping Position

Jones now joins the Union goalkeeping stable of John McCarthy as well as Andre Blake, where he will likely back up Blake and spot start when Blake is away with International Duties with Jamaica.

The question still remains of what Head Coach Jim Curtin and Sporting Director Stewart will do with the 23-year-old Philadelphia native. One probable scenario would be that McCarthy would be sent to Bethlehem Steel FC in order for him to keep developing his skills. The other possible scenario is that given Andre Blake’s unlucky injury history, McCarthy could continue to stay with the team and make the occasional early round Lamar Hunt United States Open Cup start with the Union.