D.C. United trades for a defender, continues pursuit of goalkeeper Bill Hamid

With the transfer and trade deadline a day away, D.C. United on Tuesday addressed defensive depth issues by trading for an outside back while remaining locked in negotiations with a Danish club about reacquiring stalwart goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

United completed a deal with Portland for Lithuanian left back Vytautas Andriuskevicius, who goes by one name: “Vytas.” The Timbers received $50,000 in targeted allocation money and will keep half of his $250,000 base salary on their books.

Vytas, 27, is expected to join his new team this week ahead of Sunday night’s match against Orlando City at Audi Field.

He will vie for playing time at a position occupied by Costa Rica’s Joseph Mora, who has started 12 of 19 league matches. Mora replaced Taylor Kemp, a three-year starter who will end up missing this entire season with a hip injury.

United is understaffed at both outside spots, with Nick DeLeon recovering from a long-term knee injury suffered at the start of the summer. Jamaica’s Oniel Fisher has filled the void. But with a congested schedule the final 2 1/2 months of the season, the club has spent weeks exploring opportunities to add depth at one or both positions.

Vytas logged 19 starts last year but has appeared in only three league matches this season, all as a sub, after battling injuries and losing the job to Zarek Valentin. He did start three U.S. Open Cup games and scored against Los Angeles FC last month.

Before joining the Timbers in 2016, Vytas played for Cambuur (Netherlands), Djurgarden (Sweden) and Lechia Gdansk (Poland). He has featured with the Lithuanian national team for several years and started four times in this past World Cup qualifying cycle.

Meanwhile, multiple people close to the situation said the team remains in talks with Danish club Midtjylland about reacquiring Hamid, who left Washington as a free agent last winter after seven years as the starter.

Hamid, 27, has grown frustrated with a lack of playing time and would welcome a return to United, which retained his MLS rights. One source, however, said Midtjylland is using MLS’s approaching deadline to leverage a larger transfer fee.

David Ousted has given mixed performances in starting all but three league matches for United (4-9-6). Veteran Steve Clark is the backup. If Hamid returned, one would have to go.

Asked early Tuesday about The Post’s story last Friday that said Hamid might return, Coach Ben Olsen said: “I don’t want to add too much on that. I don’t think that report is crazy. All this stuff is so day-to-day; it can vanish and appear in the 48 hours we have” to finalize deals.