Throughout last summer, Jonny Steele tried to sell playing for the Carolina RailHawks to Matt Watson, an indoor teammate in Baltimore and a friend from England.

Watson, a 6-foot, 180-pound attacking midfielder, bought the sales pitch and signed with the RailHawks earlier this week. Though Steele recruited Watson to Cary, the two will not play together here, since Steele recently signed with Puerto Rico. Not that that has changed Watson’s feelings about Carolina.

“He’s the reason I went to Baltimore,” Watson said Monday. “[Steele] said he would be at Carolina. He was the reason I was going to go there. … I just really wanted to play at Carolina. It was going to be the best fit.”

Watson has played the last two USL seasons with the Second Division’s Richmond Kickers, while also playing for the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League during the winter.

Last season in Richmond, Watson’s teammates voted him their MVP after he scored nine goals and had three assists in 23 games (including the U.S. Open Cup and USL-2 playoffs).

“He’s a very disciplined player. He’s got a magical right foot,” said Carolina midfielder Chris Carrieri, who played with Watson in Richmond in 2006. “He can penetrate with the ball and make defenders make mistakes. … With our other two signings, he’s a perfect fit.”

Watson is the third player signed by the organization in the last six weeks who will be expected to bolster an attack that ranked 11th in the 12-team USL First Division last season.

The RailHawks also signed forward Jacob Coggins, who led USL-2 in goals and points last season with Charlotte, and Dan Antoniuk, who led USL-1 in assists and points last season with Atlanta.

Like those two, Watson faced Carolina with his former team last season. He assisted the game-winning goal in Richmond’s 3-1 preseason win over the RailHawks on April 7. Then Carolina beat the Kickers 1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals at SAS Soccer Park on Aug. 7.

Also like Coggins and Antoniuk, Watson brings a winning pedigree to Cary. He was part of the Kickers’ 2006 USL-2 championship — one that was earned after a 2-1 win over Coggins and the Charlotte Eagles — and he helped the Kickers return to the title game in 2007.

“With the two new players, I know about Jacob and Dan, they’re just going to add to an already great team,” Watson said. “It should be a very good season if the team gels well.’

While the RailHawks have been busy reshaping the roster the last couple of months, President and General Manager Chris Economides said they’re not done yet.

Economides said he would like to solidify the team’s outside midfield positions. The team is still negotiating with Joey Worthen, who patrolled the left flank and appeared in 22 matches last season. Economides also said he is looking at possibly bringing in a left back, which would allow Caleb Norkus to return to his more natural position in the midfield.

The RailHawks appear set at forward with Antoniuk, Coggins Connally Edozien and Joel Bailey all under contract. Their defense, which was sixth in goals against (1.06 goals per game), remains completely intact, too.

In addition to patrolling the free agent market, the RailHawks hope to find a player or two during their upcoming open tryout, which will be Dec. 21-22 at SAS Soccer Park. Last year, the team found midfielder Phillip Long, midfielder Phillip Kutsu and goalkeeper Chris McClellan during the open tryout. McClellan was the biggest find, as he became the team’s starting goalkeeper and finished the year with 12 shutouts and 91 saves, both third highest in the league, in 25 starts.

“When you pick up the league’s leading scorer and the D2 leading scorer and MVP and Matt Watson, those are three critical pieces of the puzzle,” Economides said of the offseason to date. “We’re not done yet. I’d say we’re off to a good start.”