Vancouver Whitecaps ink Uruguayan centre back Mathias Laborda through 2025

Uruguay's Mathias Laborda, left, fights for the ball with Colombia's Ricardo Marquez during a South America Olympic qualifying U23 soccer match at the Alfonso Lopez stadium in Bucaramanga, Colombia, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

The Vancouver Whitecaps have bolstered their backline, signing Uruguayan centre back Mathias Laborda.

The club announced the move Monday as the 'Caps and teams across Major League Soccer officially open training camps.

The Whitecaps say Laborda's contract runs through 2025 with a club option for the 2026 season, and that he will occupy an international roster slot.

The 23-year-old defender comes to Vancouver from Club Nacional de Football in the Uruguayan Primera Division, where he started in 82 of 101 appearances, registering six goals and an assist and helping the club to championships in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

The six-foot, 170-pound Laborda has also represented Uruguay at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels.

Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster says in a release that the team has been scouting Laborda for over a year.