Bryce Duke was signing autographs on jerseys at Saputo Stadium on Wednesday when he received a call from his mother. “You have Opoku! “, she launched to him.
Opoku, Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku, his full name, is the striker acquired on Wednesday from Los Angeles FC in return for an allowance amount (GAM) of 1.65 million in 2023 and an amount of $ 100,000 in GAM in 2024.
Duke, also an LAFC alumnus, knows him well. Visibly enthusiastic about the arrival of his friend in Montreal, the young American did not skimp on the compliments about the Ghanaian, Thursday morning, before training under the oppressive heat at the Nutrilait Center.
“He’s just a great guy,” he hinted. He is very humble, everyone can get along well with him. I think he is a good addition on the pitch, but also off the pitch. »
Let’s focus on what the 21-year-old – soon to be 22 – will bring to the pitch. After all, we guess that’s why Olivier Renard had been trying to acquire it for several months already.
In Opoku, the Montreal team obtains a player with a “slightly different” profile, according to Hernán Losada. Asked about his expectations of his new player, the head coach went there with a simple list:
“Goals, assists, one-on-one action, speed, running behind the defense… These are all things he’s done before with Los Angeles. »
That sums it up.
If Losada has indicated that he wants to avoid putting “a lot of pressure” on Opoku, we understand that the addition of this young player aims to energize the CFM offensive, which is struggling to score goals.
Duke, for his part, was not afraid of words; according to him, Opoku will bring “that missing spark” to the Montreal attack. “He’s a different player to the ones we have right now and he comes from a quality team,” said the attacking midfielder.
Note that Losada did not know, Thursday morning, when his new player would arrive in the metropolis. And in the event that he is available for Saturday’s game, nothing says he will be used.
Any other changes to expect?
The acquisition of a striker on the first day of the summer transfer window came as no surprise to anyone on Wednesday, given the team’s difficulty in creating scoring chances. According to specialist site FBref, only Inter Miami have generated fewer expected goals than CFM this season.
This addition has, in a way, sent a message to the players: the team will continue to push “for a place in the playoffs, that the season has only just begun and that anything can happen”, believes Bryce Duke.
PHOTO MATT KELLEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Bryce Duke
It shows that we can be a better team than the way we perform. It adds to the depth of the group.
Bryce Duke
“Now everyone is going to have competition. Players are interchangeable, and all that. A competition in the team makes everyone better. »
The arrival of Opoku could also mean that there will eventually be departures, even if Losada denied this link of correlation. During the mid-season review, Renard spoke of the possibility of players leaving the club on loan.
Asked what position he would like to see a player added to, Losada declined to answer.
“Understand that if I start talking about other positions, what are the players who are here now going to say? I’m not talking about that. »
“Besides, yes, I’m happy with the group I have,” he added a few seconds later.
That is clear.
Samuel Piette back, but on the bench
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Samuel Piette
Hernán Losada has confirmed that Samuel Piette will be back for the visit of Atlanta United on Saturday night at Saputo Stadium. However, he will not be in the starting lineup. Remember that the captain only played two games at the start of the season, before getting injured after 10 minutes of play in his third game, on 1er april. As for Mathieu Choinière, he was back in training on Thursday, but Losada still didn’t know if he would be able to play on Saturday.