The Montreal Impact announced on Monday that Chilean attacking midfielder Jeisson Vargas signed a contract with the club for the 2018 season with two and a half option years.

“Jeisson is a young player with very interesting potential. He was recommended by Nick De Santis right when I arrived at the club and I quickly approved his signing,” declared Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “He has real dribbling and shooting abilities. He can play in different attacking positions. I think he is a player who has a good margin for progression and whose profile will be very useful to the team during the season.”

“Jeisson is a young and talented attacking player,” added Impact technical director Adam Braz. “His technical and creative abilities will help our team in the final third of the field. Jeisson can play in different attacking roles and we are very excited to welcome him to our club.”

Vargas, 20, recorded eight goals and five assists in 40 Primera División games in Chile with club Universidad Católica, between 2014 and 2017. He helped UC win the Liguilla Pre-Sudamericana Apertura 2015 to earn its place in the 2015 Copa Sudamericana, registering two goals and three assists in four starts. He then contributed to the 2016 Clausura championship title (second half of the season) with three goals, which led the club to a place in the 2017 Copa Libertadores. He added two goals in nine Copa Chile games and played in two Copa Sudamericana games and in the 2017 Supercopa de Chile game.

Originally from Santiago, Vargas joined the club’s academy at the age of 14, making his professional debut on December 5, 2014, at 17. Following a loan in July 2016, he recorded three assists in eight Apertura games in 2015 with Estudiantes de La Plata, in the Argentine first division, while also appearing in one Copa Sudamericana and two Copa Argentina games.

On the international stage, Vargas was called up by the Chile national team in 2016 for FIFA World Cup qualification games against Argentina and Venezuela, although he did not feature. He was also on Chile’s provisional list for the Copa America Centenario in 2016. He previously started three games in the 2017 CONMEBOL U20 Championship.

Transaction: The Montreal Impact acquired attacking midfielder Jeisson Vargas, who signed a contract with the club for the 2018 season, along with two and a half option years.

JEISSON VARGAS

Position: Midfielder

Height: 5’7’’

Weight: 150 lbs

Birthdate and birthplace: September 15, 1997, in Santiago, Chile

Citizenship: Chile

Last club: Club Deportivo Universidad Católica (Chile)

Date acquired: January 22, 2018