The Union made their first external acquisition of the offseason by acquiring Argentine center back Ian Glavinovich Friday. The 23-year-old joins from Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys, the club of Lionel Messi’s youth, on a one-year loan with a purchase option. He will occupy an international roster spot. Glavinovich stands 6-0, 165 pounds. The native of Elortondo turned 23 in October. He’s made 30 appearances for Newell’s, though only six of them have come in the Argentine league for a total of 540 minutes. He’s made 19 of his appearances in the Copa de la Liga, and he’s also played in Copa Sudamericana. He has one assist in 2,500 first-team minutes. The center back, who has dual Argentine/Croatian citizenship, has been capped twice by the Argentine Under-23 team, though he did not make the cut for the Paris Olympic squad. “Ian is a robust, fast, center back who’s skillset matches what we are looking for in that position,” Sporting Director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. “He is defensively sound and has a lot of quality on the ball. With room for development, I believe he can make an immediate impact on our backline, and we look forward to welcoming him to the club.” The Union have a need at center back, with Jack Elliott allowed to sign as a free agency with Chicago. The club has just three center backs on the roster. Glavinovich is the third international center back the Union have signed in the last two years, joining U-22 initiative signee Olwethu Makhanya and Abasa Aremeyaw. Neither of them played for the first team in a competitive game, though Makhanya featured prominently on Union II and remains with the club. (Bolivian utside back Jamir Berdecio, signed on a one-year loan last year, would fall into that category, too.)