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The Montreal Impact have a former player to thank for landing their newest signee.

On Tuesday, the Montreal Impact announced the acquisition of Panamanian midfielder Omar Browne (pronounced “brow-knee”) from Independiente de La Chorrera of the Panamanian Football League. Montreal has him on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to buy.

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“I’m very happy to be here,” Browne said through an interpreter on Tuesday. “(Montreal) is a very beautiful city. It’s been a dream of mine since I was young to play outside of Panama. Now I have the chance to do it. I’m really happy to be here and I want to win a championship.”

Photo by Luis Vieira / AP

Impact manager Rémi Garde hopes to have Browne in the lineup for Montreal’s match Saturday at 1 p.m. against the Union in Philadelphia. Garde sees Browne as a player who can play at wing, or even behind a striker, and knows he can score. But the team is still in the process of getting a travel visa so he can join the team in Philadelphia.

“He’s in good physical condition because he’s played so many games,” Garde said. “We’re doing the maximum, I hope it’ll be possible for him to play this weekend.”

Browne might have never caught the eye of the Impact if it weren’t for his uncle, former Impact forward and club ambassador to Panama, Roberto Brown. The fellow Panamanian played for the Impact from 2007 to 2010, winning a Canadian Championship and a United Soccer League championship.

“He’s my nephew and I will take care of him, in whatever he might need from me,” Brown said.

Montreal started gaining interest after Browne’s performance against Major League Soccer rival Toronto FC during the CONCACAF Champions League. The 24-year old scored against TFC in both legs of Independiente’s 5-1 aggregate victory. Impact vice-president (international relations and technical development) Nick DeSantis placed Browne and a number of players on the team’s Discovery List.

Once DeSantis and Garde realized Browne could be a fit on their squad, De Santis phoned Brown to inquire about his nephew.

Speculation about Browne joining an MLS team began in early April. The links to Montreal grew when a photo of the midfielder and Brown eating dinner surfaced on social media.