Montreal Impact close to signing Santiago Gonzalez

Oct 19, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Impact fans display the team scarf during the first half against the Philadelphia Union at Stade Saputo. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Frank Klopas’s Montreal Impact are very close to signing Uruguayan forward Santiago Gonzalez but there is a silver lining: he will not be the club’s third and final Designated Player. Instead, he will be a Special Discovery Player, according to the MLS rules.

“It means that the league acquires a young player and that the contract is amortized [over several seasons] so the player’s cap hit reaches between $125,000 and $150,000, give or take,” Montreal Impact sporting director Nick De Santis told MLSSoccer.com’s Olivier Tremblay. “That helps the team a lot. Those are young players with experience.”

González, 21, had been playing with Sud América in the Uruguayan first division. A second-division champion with the club last term, he scored five goals in 14 games in his first season in the top flight. The allocation means that Montreal have breathing space in finding their third DP.

Last week, it was confirmed that Gonzalez was in negotiations to join the Impact.

“He’s got pace, he’s physically strong,” Klopas told Tremblay of Gonzalez. “You can play to feet, play in depth. He drifts out wide at times. I think they’ve used him in a 4-3-3 out wide at times with the youth national team, but he can play up top, and he’s physically very strong and makes smart runs. …

“He’s got good feet. If it works out, it could be a good addition to the club, and he’s a young player that you can build, that you can have for years to come.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Patrice Bernie was named the seventh captain in the Impact’s long history.

“It is with honour and pride that I wear the captain’s armband for the Montreal Impact,” Bernier told reporters. “At this stage of my career, having grown up here, this will be a very special experience for me and a new challenge that I am ready to take on. It’s also nice to be recognized by the coaching staff for my leadership and what I bring to the team. It is now up to me to maintain the standard that was set by Davy Arnaud.”

“He’s more of a lead-by-example guy,” added goalkeeper Troy Perkins to Tremblay. “He’s not the vocal guy. He’s not the passionate person on the field that’s going to pick someone up by the shirt and tell them to move on. He’s definitely the identity of the team. He’s going to be that glue that brings all the varieties that we have here together.”