CF Montreal fans will reconnect with many of their favorites in 2023, but they will no longer have the chance to see the prowess of midfielders Djordje Mihailovic and Ismaël Koné, as well as those of defender Alistair Johnston.
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All three have been sold in the past few months and forward Mason Toye summed up the troops’ mindset perfectly in the opening moments of training camp 2023.
“Djordje, Isma and Ali are big losses,” he said on Monday. They are now all in Europe and they play there. It’s amazing for them. With us, it opens doors for other guys.”
“They are revolving doors in the world of professional sports. There are always departures and arrivals.
It’s far too early to know who will take the places of those who have left, but new head coach Hernan Losada wants to see what the organization’s youngsters have in store.
“We have a lot of young talent coming in. I am a coach who likes to work with young people and that is the club’s philosophy,” he said.
However, he opened the door to new acquisitions, while being quite vague on this subject.
“We may be replacing those who have left with players who are already here. But if there are new players, it will be good for the competition.
“Maybe yes, why not?, he answered when he was questioned about possible hirings. If that doesn’t happen, I’m still happy with the squad we have.”
Choinière wants to play
Among the CF Montreal youngsters who want to take advantage of the holes in the training, there is midfielder Mathieu Choinière.
The 23-year-old athlete will play his sixth campaign with the Belle Province team in 2023. After starting 24 of 26 games and playing 1,992 minutes two years ago, the native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu saw its use decline last year. He was among the starters 15 times in 26 games played and spent 1,384 minutes on the grass surface.
“My goal is to play as many minutes as possible and help the team,” he said when training camp opened. I am versatile and I can play in several positions. My goal is to be one of the starters.”
“I have to take my chance and demonstrate [à Losada] everything I can do during the preseason and the first games of the campaign.”
In addition to Choinière, Losada mentioned the names of Matko Miljevic and Joaquin Torres to replace Mihailovic and Koné.