VANCOUVER, B.C. – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 announced on Thursday that the club had signed American center back Danny Barbir for the remainder of the 2017 USL season.

 “Danny is a big, strong young centre back who has experience in a highly competitive environment in England,” said WFC2 Head Coach Rich Fagan. “We’ll continue to push him and evaluate him during the final stretch of our USL season.”

Barbir, 19, joins WFC2 after spending the past three years at English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion FC, where he made 16 appearances for their U-23 side, scoring one goal. The native of Allentown, N.J. also played three matches and scored one goal with the Stoke City FC U-23 team in 2017.

Prior to signing with West Brom, Barbir played one year in the Manchester City youth academy in 2014.

A Romanian-American dual citizen, Barbir previously made five appearances with the United States U17 men’s national team, including two starts at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile.