Columbus Crew sign Ghanaian right full-back Harrison Afful

The Columbus Crew has bolstered its defensive ranks with the signing of Ghanaian right full-back Harrison Afful, the club announced Thursday.

The Crew used the league's Discovery Signing rule to add the pacy African defender, placing a claim on his MLS rights before making the signing official. Afful will not be a Designated Player.

"Harrison is an experienced, versatile defender whose playing style will fit well into our system," Columbus head coach Gregg Berhalter told the team's official website. "He has established himself in the highly competitive Ghanaian National Team and has participated in both the Africa Cup of Nations and in the World Cup.

"After an extensive search, we're happy to welcome Harrison to Columbus and we feel that he is going to be a great addition to our defensive corps," he added.

Afful played in the 2014 World Cup with Ghana and has made 53 international appearances. He was last with Tunisian outfit Esperance Sportive de Tunis, where he played for six seasons, making 173 appearances, scoring 16 goals and recording 25 assists across all competitions.

The 29-year-old is ready for the challenges that come with playing in MLS, though, while he admitted he didn't know much about the league, he believes his time in the U.S. "will be great."

"I just hope I’ll be able to adapt to the system of the team and then make sure I will do my best for the club, even though it’s a short time," Afful said in his first interview. "But for me, I believe in myself and I know I can do it. Even though it’s a big challenge for me, I believe I can do well for the club.

" ... I always say one thing to myself. I already have the talent, so if you have the talent, you need to work. You need to work more," he continued. "This is a great challenge I have taken in. I need to work a lot to get to my standard. And there is a saying: to be at the top is easy, but to maintain it is very difficult. So, I’m just hoping I’ll maintain my performance."