Omar Browne will trial with the Sounders

According to the Twitter account of Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF) club Sporting San Miguelito, 19 year-old left-footed striker and attacking midfielder Omar "Cito" Browne will go on trial with the Sounders, presumably during Seattle's pre-season training in the hopes of earning a spot on the roster.

Omar Browne del @sportingsm iría a prueba al Seattle Sounders FC de la MLS

— Sporting SM F.C. (@sportingsm) January 22, 2014

Roberto Brown, who accompanied Roberto Chen during his trial with the Sounders last summer, will serve as Browne's manager while in Seattle.

Un agradecimiento especial a Roberto "El Bombardero" Brown, por la gestión de Omar Browne en la MLS de Estados Unidos

— Sporting SM F.C. (@sportingsm) January 22, 2014

Browne, along with Chen, was a member of Panama's U17 team in the 2011 CONCACAF Championships and the U17 World Cup. Browne wasted no time scoring his first international goal in the 9th minute of the first match of Central American qualification in November 2010, in a 1-0 win against Honduras. In the tournament's third place match against Jamaica, Browne scored the game winning goal, propelling Panama to its best finish since the tournament expanded beyond a 4 nation format.

Panama made its first ever appearance in the U17 World Cup in 2011. Browne appeared in group stage matches against Panama and Ecuador, but a red card in the Ecuador match prevented him from appearing in the final group stage match against Germany. Panama's qualification to the round of 16 remains its best finish at the the U17 World Cup.

Prior to January 2013, Browne played for Millenium FC in Liga Nacional de Ascenso, Panama's second division. There are no statistics readily available for his time with Millennium, but there is a highlight video from his time there available on Youtube.

Browne joined CD Plaza Amador in January 2013 and played 265 minutes in 8 appearances in the 2013 Clausura.

He moved to Sporting San Miguelito before the 2013 Aptertura. He only made 3 appearances for Sporting SM's first team, scoring 1 goal in 166 minutes, in addition to a substitute appearance in CONCACAF Champions League. While he didn't see regular playing time with the first team, he led Sporting's U19 squad to the U19 Apertura league title for the first time in club history, scoring the opening goal in the final against Chepo FC. Browne scored 8 goals in the U19 LPF Apertura.

In Sporting's first match of the 2014 Clausura against the 2013 Apertura runner-up San Francisco, Browne scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 season opening win. It was his second league goal with the first team in his last 3 appearances.

It seems pretty significant that Sporting is willing to part with such a promising player just as the 2014 Clausura is getting underway for a trial with the Sounders, who are just about to begin pre-season training. The potential of getting a decent transfer fee from Seattle if the Sounders decide they want to sign Browne probably outweighs any negatives associated with making do without him.

Browne's trial, along with Chen's trial last summer, seems to suggest that the Sounders see Panama as a largely untapped pool of players who can make an impact in MLS. Only three Panamanian players are currently in MLS.