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The Columbus Crew is set to sign free agent striker Josef Martinez. The former Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player has agreed to a contract that will keep the Venezuelan with the Black & Gold through the remainder of the 2026 season, with an option for the 2027 Sprint Season. Martinez will not fill a Designated Player spot in Columbus. Martinez, 33, came up through Venezuelan club Caracas before moving to Europe and playing for Swiss sides Young Boys and FC Thun. He spent parts of several seasons in Serie A with Torino, developing into a poacher with a nose for goal, before Atlanta United — then an MLS expansion side building for its 2017 debut — moved to bring him stateside. Martinez signed with Atlanta on loan from Torino on Feb. 2, 2017, before the transfer was made permanent that March. It proved to be one of the most consequential signings in modern MLS history, as he went to score 98 goals and tallied 16 assists from 2017-2022. The individual accolades piled up from there. Martinez became the first player in league history to win the regular-season MVP, All-Star Game MVP and MLS Cup MVP awards in the same season — a feat no one else has matched. Martinez won the MLS Golden Boot in 2018, scoring 31 goals in 34 games. He scored the opener and added an assist in Atlanta’s 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers in the 2018 MLS Cup, punctuating a season that also included a Supporters’ Shield. In 2023, Martinez joined Inter Miami, where he appeared just 27 times (20 starts), registering eight goal contributions (seven goals, one assist). He then moved to CF Montreal, where he played under current Crew interim manager Laurent Courtois and appeared 23 times (13 starts), tallying 11 goals and three assists. Martinez last played in MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes, where he scored 14 goals and added two assists. His contract was not renewed and Martinez moved to Club Tijuana in Liga MX. There, he appeared in 14 matches and recorded just nine goals and one assist before the two sides agreed to a mutual termination. Sources told Massive Report that this was done in part due to Martinez’s desire to return to MLS. With this signing, Martinez makes just another move in a very active transfer window by the Black & Gold. Columbus has signed Brais Mendez as the club’s new No. 10 after transferring Diego Rossi to CF Monterrey. He also joins Eric Bailly, Lautauro Giaccone and Brooks Lennon. Martinez was in Columbus last week and trained on trial with the Crew, sources confirmed to Massive Report. Over the course of 214 MLS appearances across four clubs, Martinez has registered 130 regular-season goals and 21 assists. He will look to build on that number for the Black & Gold.