The Montreal Impact have added some experience and size up front after acquiring veteran striker Kenny Cooper off MLS waivers on Sunday.
Copper, 30, is expected to arrive in Montreal and start training with the Impact within the next two days.
The signing of Copper gives Montreal, who never found a replacement for Marco Di Vaio following the Italian’s retirement in the off-season, some much-needed attacking depth. Rookie forward Cameron is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury, and winger Justin Mapp is several months away from returning after injuring his elbow.
Montreal is through to the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League, but is winless through its first four games (with two losses) of the current MLS campaign–the Impact have only scored two goals in those four matches.
“We are very pleased to add Kenny to our roster,” Impact technical director Adam Braz said via a news release.
“We have spoken about wanting to add quality depth to our attack and we have done so with this signing. Kenny has scored 75 goals in our league and that says a lot about his abilities. He is an excellent person who will fit in well with our group. We have improved our team and we are looking forward to having him join our group.”
Cooper, who stands six-foot-three-inches and weighs 210 pounds, will give Montreal more of a physical presence up front than Jack McInerney, who’s been starting for the Impact in recent weeks, including Saturday’s 3-0 road loss to the Houston Dynamo.
“McInerney doesn’t offer the physical strength that the Impact need in the attack,” wrote Sportsnet.ca columnist Nick Sabetti. “There were several times where the Impact’s players found themselves in good crossing positions on the edge of the Houston area but opted to try and dribble past one or two defenders instead of simply crossing the ball in the box.
“Without having any kind of aerial presence, the odds of a cross being successful are certainly diminished.”
A veteran of eight MLS seasons, Cooper has 75 regular season goals in 210 appearances (172 starts). He most recently spent the 2014 campaign with the Seattle Sounders, registering three goals and four assists in 22 league matches. The Sounders waived Cooper on April 2.
“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to join the Montreal Impact,” Kenny Cooper said in a news release. “With the recent achievement of reaching the Champions League final, it’s obviously a great time for the club. I am eager and determined to contribute to more success this year. It will be a privilege to represent a club, so rich in history and fan support.”
Montreal will be Cooper’s fifth MLS club after enjoying two stints with FC Dallas (2006-09 and 2013), the Portland Timbers (2011), the New York Red Bulls (2012) and the Sounders (2014). He twice scored 18 goals in a single MLS campaign (for Dallas in 2008 and New York in 2012) and was named to the MLS Best XI in 2008.
Cooper was once a member of the Manchester United youth system, and eventually played for 1860 Munich in Germany (2009-2011) and Plymouth Argyle in England (2010).
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