Red Bulls in "good spot" after Shaun Wright-Phillips signing

The New York Red Bulls front office and coaching staff called the Shaun Wright-Phillips signing a "great day" for the organization.

Both Sporting Director Ali Curtis and Manager Jesse Marsch went out of their way to praise the signing, and what it means for the Red Bulls going forward.

"We're able to add not only a great player that has a tremendous amount of experience and is a great guy in our locker room, but we're adding a great human being," Curtis told reporters at a press conference announcing the singing.

"Today's a great day for the New York Red Bulls. We're in a good spot, we're looking forward to the rest of the games for the rest of the season and this was an opportunity where we could add strength to our roster so that we could have a very strong finish."

The move represents Ali Curtis' first big splash as Red Bulls Sporting Director. Curtis this season has overseen a roster that has reduced the budget to around a third of what it was last season, when the Red Bulls had Designated Players Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill on the roster.

Currently the only Designated Player on the team is Shaun's brother Bradley Wright-Phillips. For this season, the acquisitions of Sacha Kljestan and Shaun Wright-Phillips appear to be made through allocation funds, allowing the team to maintain cap space, and potentially sign two more DPs.

" I was always impressed with the quality he had on the field, but I was always even more impressed with the work rate that he showed for his team and all the little things that he did to help make his teams successful," Jesse Marsch said about the signing.

"I think [Bradley and Shaun] playing together is a great story, it's going to be awesome for the both of them, but what's most important is that they're both great footballers.

"We have a very dynamic team, and we wanted to make sure that any player we brought in fit into that, and understood our system, how to play with the players that we have already, and Shaun brings that."

For SWP, it will be the first time since the 2004-05 Premier League season since he got to play with his brother Bradley. And to think, without a seminal event in Bradley's life, this reunion may not have even happened.

"When I came from my brother's wedding, I was expecting to be back on a plane, back to the UK shortly after, but like Jesse said, he caught me in the airport and asked me to train just to keep my fitness up and it kind of all fell into place," Shaun said when introduced to the media.

"I'm very welcome to be here right now and I'm very humble at the same time and hopefully I can do exactly what you guys expect me to do and help the Red Bulls win stuff in MLS."

Bradley and Shaun will be the 11th pair of brothers to play alongside each other on the same team in MLS, and the second ever for the franchise, as Marco and Fausto Klinger appeared together for the 2001 MetroStars.

Currently the roster stands at 26 players, with Ali Curtis saying reinforcements could be coming. Whether the team will fill either the one or two spots the team has available is to be determined.

For now, here is an interview with both Bradley and Shaun Wright-Phillips done after the initial signing: