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Defender Jelle Van Damme joins LA Galaxy from Standard Liege

Defender Jelle Van Damme has completed a transfer to the LA Galaxy from Belgian side Standard Liege, the MLS club announced on Tuesday.

Van Damme, 32, has made over 200 appearances Standard Liege since joining the club in 2011.

The left-back arrives in LA as a replacement on the back-line for Omar Gonzalez, who signed with Pachuca in December. The Galaxy completed the deal using targeted allocation money.

"Jelle is an experienced, talented defender who will strengthen our back line," said LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena. "He joins our team with a wealth of experience playing at the highest levels of competition in the world. We look forward to adding him to our roster."

Sources have also told ESPN FC that English full-back Ashley Cole is set to join the Galaxy.

After brief spells with Ajax and Southampton, Van Damme returned to Belgium with Anderlecht for four seasons. He then played in the Premier League with Wolverhampton for one season before signing with Standard.

He recorded 22 goals with 27 assists for Standard Liege over the past five seasons. But his stay appeared to be drawing to a close when Standard officially announced the signing of Cameroonian defender Collins Fai earlier this month.

Van Damme has earned 30 caps for Belgium since 2003 but has not played in either the World Cup or the European Championship.

The 2016 MLS season begins in March.