The European soccer (or rather, football) season has begun and many Canadian players are playing in Europe.
It is a good time to be a fan of the Canadian men’s national team. Jesse Marsch came in as head coach back in June and rejuvenated the squad. They then went to the semi-finals of the Copa America and a few members of the Canada squad got some big moves. Of course, some more Canadian players could still make the jump to Europe or bigger European squads.
Let’s go over some Canadian players in Europe and where they will be playing this season and look at the stories surrounding them. Of course, we won’t go through all of them as that would take forever. We’ll stick with the highlights.
Here is a list of all Canadian players players playing in Europe and abroad.
Let’s start with the birthplace of modern football as we know it.
England
Liam Millar, Hull City, Championship
Since the age of 13, 24-year-old Liam Millar has played his football in England. After coming up through the Fulham and Liverpool academies, he went through loan spells at Scotland’s Kilmarnock and Charlton Athletic in EFL League One.
The attacking midfielder/left winger then signed for Swiss side FC Basel in the summer of 2021 and made 59 appearances with them over three seasons, he returned to England and signed for EFL Championship club Preston North End on loan. The Toronto-born player scored five goals and five assists with Preston North End and earned a permanent move to fellow Championship side Hull City. Millar signed there for an undisclosed fee.
Two games in for Hull and Millar has one assist. Hull City finished seventh in the Championship last season and Millar will hope to lead them to greater heights.
Luc De Fougerolles, Fulham, Premier League
Luc De Fougerolles is only 18 years old but is a player to watch for now and in the future. He was born in London but chose to represent Canada (due to his father Jean) and has already had two caps. One of those was the third-place match in the Copa America against Argentina. He started that match and didn’t look too bad.
He’s a versatile player and is naturally a centre-back but can play as a full-back or in the midfield. De Fourgerolles is great at 1 on 1 defending and is a good progressive passer.
He has yet to make an appearance with Fulham as he is currently with the under-21s. There is a small chance he could get called up to the first team and make an appearance. Regardless, De Fourgerolles has talent and is one of the young Canadian players to watch this season.
Scotland
Alistair Johnston, Celtic, Scottish Premiership
Ever since he left CF Montreal for Celtic in the winter of 2023, Alistair Johnston has done well at Celtic.
The Richmond BC-born right-back has been a consistent starter for the Bhoys and has become a fan favourite. Since he joined Celtic, Johnston has had success. He has won the Scottish Premiership twice, the Scottish Cup twice and the Scottish League Cup once. That’s not a bad haul.
Last season, Johnston started all 32 of Celtic’s league matches and has already started their first two matches this season.
With his defensive work rate and passing ability, there is no reason why Johnston can’t lead Celtic to more success.
Junior Hoilett, Hibernian, Scottish Premiership
A veteran of Canada’s men’s national team, 34-year-old Junior Hoilett joined Hibernian on a one-year contract.
Hoilett enjoyed a decent spell with Aberdeen last season. He started 10 out of 13 league games for the second half of last season. Hoilett managed to score two goals and managed to get seven assists.
Despite enjoying his time at Aberdeen, he chose to leave and signed for Hibernian instead. While he is entering the twilight of his career, Hoilett will try to impress and see if he can get a few more Canada call-ups.
France
Jonathan David, Ligue 1, LOSC Lille
France’s Ligue 1 has the most Canadian men’s national team players, what a time to be alive. But let’s start with someone who has been playing in Ligue 1 for the last few years.
Jonathan David has been a prolific goal scorer since he joined LOSC Lille from Gent in August of 2020. The Brooklyn-born and Ottawa-raised striker has scored 72 goals in 147 matches across all competitions for Lille and helped them to their first league title in a decade in 2021.
David is off to a good start to his 2024-25 campaign. He has three goals in four matches in all competitions which included a 118th-minute winner against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache in the third round of the UCL qualifiers.
For what feels like forever, David has been linked with a move away from Lille. Over the past few months and years, he’s been linked to clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham United, AC Milan and AS Roma.
With this being the final season of his contract, a move at some point feels inevitable. David could move in the next few days or wait to leave on a free next summer.
It looks like David could likely leave Lille next summer. The latest rumour has him linked to Inter Milan by Italian newspaper Tuttosport. He could join Inter on a free and they could bid for him in January or in the summer.
Derek Cornelius, Olympique Marseille, Ligue 1
Since leaving the Vancouver Whitecaps, Derek Cornelius has impressed. After a loan spell with Panetolikos in Greece, Cornelius signed for Malmo in Sweden. There, he helped them win the Allsvenskan in 2023 and the Svenska Cupen back in May.
His impressive performances with Malmo and Canada at the Copa America earned him a move to Olympique Marseille for 4.3 million Euros.
Cornelius played Marseille’s first match against Brest. It was a 5-1 away win and despite giving away an early penalty, Cornelius grew into the game and looked solid.
Ismaël Koné, Olympique Marseille, Ligue 1
Derek Cornelius isn’t the only Canadian player at Marseille.
Ismaël Koné joined the French side for 15 million pounds in June. The creative midfielder impressed with Watford and Canada. With Watford, he got four goals and three assists this past season. Despite a slow start at the Copa America, Koné impressed with his progressive passes, defensive work and carries into the box.
In Roberto De Zerbi’s possession and free-flowing system, Koné seems like a great fit in Marseille.
Unfortunately, Koné has been dealing with an ankle in training over a week ago. However, he is reportedly back in training. It is unlikely to play against Reims on Sunday.
Moise Bombito, OGC Nice, Ligue 1
It’s hard to believe but Moise Bombito was playing at Iowa Western Community College four years ago. He was also playing for CS Saint-Hubert in League 1 Quebec. To say Bombito’s rise was meteoric is an understatement.
From community college to playing for OGC Nice is a great success story. Bombito joined the French side this week from Colorado Rapids for a fee of 7.7 million dollars (American) which could rise to 10.7 million dollars in add-ons.
Bombito’s speed and aerial ability were on full display at the Copa America and he earned the move to Nice. Now it’s a matter of if he can elevate his game further in Ligue 1.
Theo Bair, Auxerre, Ligue 1
Theo Bair did not get much oppurtunity with the Whitecaps and only scored one goal in 18 months at St. Johnstone in Scotland. Last summer, he joined fellow Scottish side Motherwell.
It’s fair to say he blossomed and led Motherwell with 15 league goals and was their player of the year. Last month, Bair joined newly promoted Ligue 1 side Auxerre for 1.3 million Euros.
He played against Nice for 69 minutes and seemed solid.
It will be interesting to see how Bair builds off his season with Motherwell at Auxerre.
Spain
Cyle Larin, Mallorca, La Liga
It’s been a rough year or so for Cyle Larin. After joining Mallorca for eight million Euros from Club Brugge, Larin only scored three league goals in 35 matches. Mallorca finished 15th.
Larin did help Mallorca reach the final of the Copa Del Rey and that included a 120th minute winner against Tenerife in the Round of 16. Unfortunately, he and Mallorca lost to Athletic Bilbao on penalties.
Larin struggled in the Copa America and perhaps a new season could be a chance for him to get back into form. The 29-year-old came off the bench in Mallorca’s opening game against Real Madrid. Larin played 18 minutes and managed no shots but one duel won, one successful dribble and two touches in the Real Madrid box.
Portugal
Stephen Eustaqio, Primeira Liga, FC Porto
Stephen Eustaqio has been the engine for Canada. His midfield presence and creativity drive Canada forward.
Porto has been one of the best teams in Portugal for a long time. Them, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon are the three main title challengers.
As for Eustaqio, he deserves more starts. Sure, he started 16 out of 28 matches played for Porto last season and played a total of 1529 minutes.
Porto has a lot of competition in their midfield. That includes captain Alan Varela, Nico Gonzalez and now the return of Fabio Vieira on loan from Arsenal.
Eustaqio has played in both of Porto’s first two games of this season. He started the first one in a 3-0 win over Gil Vicente and came off as a substitute in the 68th minute in a 2-0 away win over Santa Clara.
Germany
Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich, Bundesliga
Alphonso Davies is the face of the Canadian men’s national team and one of the best left-backs, if not the best, in the world.
He has won everything to be won with Bayern Munich. Well, except last season. Bayern look to bounce back from their trophyless season with new head coach Vincent Kompany and new signings João Palhinha and Michael Olise.
As for Davies, it looked like he would be on the move to Real Madrid this summer. However, a report from The Athletic states that Davies will stay at Bayern this season. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti also confirmed there will be no last-minute signings from them.
So unless Davies extends his contract with Bayern, this could be his final season in Bavaria. Bayern Munich open their season away to Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Italy
Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan, Serie A
Unfortunately, Tajon Buchanan won’t play for Inter Milan for a while. The winger injured his tibia before the Copa America and underwent successful surgery. It looked like he wouldn’t play for Inter until 2025.
According to a report by Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, Buchanan is expected to return in December. Now of course, coming back from a major injury can have obstacles and setbacks so things could change for Buchanan. Take this rumour with a grain of salt.
For now, Buchanan is focusing on his recovery so he can come back on the pitch even stronger.
Other notable Canadian players to keep an eye out on.
He’s only had three caps for Canada but former York United centre-back Dominick Zator has been a regular starter for Poland’s Korona Kielce.
Winger Charles Andreas-Brym also looks to find his footing with Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam. He will look to impress and get some more caps. Last season he was on loan with second-tier team FC Eindhoven where he scored 11 goals.
Keep an eye on Promise David. Not related to Jonathan David, the striker is a promising (pun intended.) player who could play for Canada in the near future. He was born in Brampton, Ontario but represented Nigeria at the youth level (due to his parents being from there.) making him a dual national. David is a tall striker who brings pace and is good at running behind the defenders. The 23-year-old knows how to be in the right areas and possesses a decent shot.
David already won the Belgian with Union SG and already has a goal in three league games with them. That goal came against K.V.C. Westerloo in a 4-3 loss.
Of course, let’s not forget about Niko Sigur who most recently changed allegiances from Croatia to Canada. The Burnaby BC native plays for Hajduk Split in Croatia and is naturally a right-back but can also play as a defensive midfielder. 1 on 1 duels and passing are his strengths and this is a player Canadian soccer fans will watch with great interest.
