Toronto FC are close to adding Panamanian national team midfielder Armando Cooper.
The news was first reported on Thursday by Panamanian media. The Vancouver Province’s Marc Weber also reported the move on Friday, with the Toronto Sun’s Kurt Larson later adding that Cooper will be acquired by TFC on a loan from Panamanian club Arabe Unido.
A source confirmed Larson's report to MLSsoccer.com later on Friday.
Cooper, 28, has spent the majority of his career with Arabe Unido, playing there from 2006-2011 before returning to the team in September 2015. He spent several years with Argentine Primera Division club Godoy Cruz, but played sparingly there. He also spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Romanian outfit Otelul Galati.
He moved to German second-division side St. Pauli in February 2015, but made only seven appearances before returning to Arabe Unido in September.
Cooper has five goals in 74 career appearances for the Panamanian national team, and has represented his country at the 2011 and 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cups and 2016 Copa America Centenario.
MLS’s secondary transfer window officially closed on Aug. 3. Any MLS team looking to acquire a player under contract with a team in another country would have had to request that player’s International Transfer Certificate (ITC) prior to the close of the window. A team could announce a move after the deadline so long as it submitted a request for the player’s ITC before the window closed.
