MNUFC obtain goalkeeper John Alvbåge on loan

Minnesota United FC added a veteran presence in the net this weekend. Swedish goalkeeper John Alvbåge is coming on loan to the Loons from IFK Goteborg through July 15 with an option to extend. A loan is an agreement between two clubs that allows an athlete to play temporarily for another team while he is still under contract with another.

Alvbåge won Goalkeeper of the Year in 2015 in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, the top soccer league in the country. His pro career spans 18 years including five with IFK Goteborg where he tended 53 shutouts and helped the club to four-straight European playoff competitions.

The move adds an experienced player to a roster whose goalkeepers lack full-time top-level experience. Goalkeeper Patrick McLain spent two seasons with Chivas USA before the club folded, but spent at least one season on loan. Meanwhile, rookie goalkeeper Alec Ferrell was the team’s 23^rd overall draft pick in the 2017 MLS Super Draft after his redshirt senior season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

The acquisition of the 34-year old Alvbåge brings the Loons roster total to 24 players, four short of a full squad. The team begins exhibition play on Tuesday versus New England Revolution at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Brad Omland is a contributor to SB Nation’s E Pluribus Loonum. Follow him on Twitter: @bradradio.