One or two more transfer windows, in Montreal to stay, and the Quebec DNA of the squad

Everyone needed this first win of the season at CF Montreal. The coach, the players, the club employees, the media covering the organization's activities, the fans… This victory in New Jersey not only brings the club closer to a playoff spot, it also lightens the atmosphere around the team. And it took something to counterbalance the two stinging defeats in San Diego and Chicago.

Using Thorhallsson, Carmona, Vera, and Jaime in their preferred positions clearly allowed Marco Donadel to field a better starting eleven. And therefore improve the chances of winning.

That, and perhaps also the fact that they trained under a bit of pressure all week in Montreal. The players and staff felt the pressure to win more acutely as they spent the week between the Nutrilait Center and Marie-Victorin. It's a lot harder to escape the pressure in Montreal when you're in Montreal than when you're in San Diego, Tampa Bay, or Chicago.

You shouldn't always see the pressure from die-hard fans and the media as a negative thing, you know.

Interview with Luca Saputo: third and final act
I had the opportunity to speak with Luca Saputo, CF Montréal's senior director of recruitment and sports methodology, a few hours before the start of the 2026 season. I wrote an initial article on Ivan Jaime's future, negotiations with Christian Benteke, and a false rumor involving Olger Escobar on February 21, then a second article on the difference between Sunusi and Opoku, the plan with Ivan Losenko, and winter recruitment on February 26. Today, we present the third and final article in this trilogy, which takes a slightly more macro and high-level approach.

The work has only just begun
When Gabriel Gervais, Luca Saputo, and Simone Saputo decided to write an open letter to CF Montréal fans, just hours after seeing the club eliminated by Forge FC in the Canadian Championship, we all read and understood what we wanted to read and understand.

Except that in reality, what mattered was not what we perceived, but rather what the organization's management wanted to convey to us.

What did they want to convey to us? That they shared our dissatisfaction, that they were taking responsibility for building a winning team we could be proud of, and that they would need more than one transfer window to do so.

Luca Saputo and his staff traded Caden Clark, Joel Waterman, and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (in exchange for Matty Longstaff) to other MLS organizations, before adding Ivan Jaime and Bode Hidalgo before the summer transfer window closed. Efrain Morales was also added to the roster around the same time the famous rebuilding letter was written. Then, Dante Sealy, Bryce Duke, Jonathan Sirois, Tom Pearce, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Giacomo Vrioni, Alessandro Biello, and Matias Coccaro all left the club permanently.

Since the winter transfer window opened, several players have joined the organization: Brayan Vera, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Daniel Rios, Wiki Carmona, Tomas Aviles, Noah Streit, and Ivan Losenko.

It may have taken a little longer than expected, but yesterday we saw that these additions could make CF Montréal a team capable of doing damage on the field.

“I know people would like to see the club add a second designated player or fill the fourth U22 spot, but the winter transfer window isn't over yet. We're always open to improving the team if something comes up. But we already have plans that are likely to materialize during the summer transfer window. Yes, the World Cup is a huge opportunity for MLS, but it also changes some of the parameters for us in our recruitment.” – Luca Saputo

I asked Luca Saputo what “a few transfer windows” meant in the letter. In short, how many transfer windows will it take to see a rebuilt, competitive team that can win games on a regular basis?

“We already have a more combative and competitive team. However, there are still contracts that need to be finalized and a few significant additions before we can say that we have the team we want. The winter transfer window isn't over yet. But to answer your question, we'll need one or two more windows to put together a squad that is 100% what we have in mind.” – Luca Saputo

However, to be successful in MLS, you have to be willing to spend. The caliber of MLS is much higher than it was before the pandemic, for example. And Luca Saputo knows it.

“Spending for the sake of spending does not guarantee a team's success. We have a plan, and yes, we're ready to spend. We will spend, but we'll do it when we feel the time is right.”

In short, from what I understand, we could see the organization shelling out some serious cash to fill key positions this summer or next winter. Let's hope the club can keep its head above water until then…

There are also some undisputed starting positions to fill in midfield. Is that where CF Montréal plans to invest significant amounts of money over the next year?

However—and I think this is worth emphasizing—yesterday's starting XI was 100% Luca Saputo and his staff's: Prince, Carmona, Longstaff, Loturi, Jaime, Petrasso, Vera, Morales, Aviles, Thorhallsson, and Gillier. The team that Marco Donadel is currently sending out to battle on the pitch is no longer Olivier Renard's. When we see that it is capable of success (as it was yesterday in New Jersey), it is encouraging for the future. Let's hope the coach doesn't change his starting XI by sending Dagur to the left, moving Aviles out of position, and bringing Synchuk back to replace Carmona. #KeepItSimple

We've found a winning formula (or at least one that could be); now is not the time to change it.

Fewer Quebecers on the roster
In Quebec, we like to have Quebecers on our sports teams. When the Canadiens were losing (during the first months of their rebuilding process), many people blamed the lack of Quebecers… reminding us that in the past, the club won with several local players.

It's the same with the Alouettes: Marc-Antoine Dequoy received media coverage that was completely disproportionate to his role on the field. Yes, he helped the team and yes, he was good, but the media and fans treated him like a true superstar.

FC Supra 2.0 has just been created with the aim of fielding only Quebec players. Let's just say that this project is making a lot of people in the Montreal soccer community very happy.

However, CF Montréal has probably never had so few players from the beautiful province on its roster. Yesterday, there were no Quebecers in the starting XI. Samuel Piette got about 20 minutes at the end of the game, but that's it.

Does CF Montréal still have the ambition to support and develop Quebec talent to the highest levels of the soccer world?

“Yes, it's still in the organization's DNA to develop Quebec talent. We continue to invest heavily in the Academy, it remains part of our mission, and we always want to give opportunities to young Quebecers. We have Samsy, Aleks, Owen, and Josh, who all graduated from the Academy and are now with the first team. In addition, we are always on the lookout for opportunities with Quebec players. It's important to us. When Koné, Saliba, and others play at the highest level in Europe after coming through our organization, we are proud and happy for them. But we are also aware that we can't have all the Quebec players. Quebec has too much talent to think that no one will notice and recruit here. We are happy to see guys like Charles-Émile Brunet and Nikola Markovic in MLS, and we are proud to see that several of our former players are now with Supra. “ – Luca Saputo

A bubble at Nutrilait? The national training center in Montreal?
I know that Luca Saputo's role is now exclusively athletic and that he no longer really gets involved in more administrative decisions. He hasn't represented the club at MLS meetings for over a year for one simple reason: he spends all his time evaluating and trying to improve the Montreal squad.

On that note, it's important to understand that two people must represent CF Montreal at these important meetings. Usually, Joey Saputo attends, accompanied by someone else. Luca has been that other person in the past, but not recently. He has taken a step back from that, because he has become so involved in the sporting side of things.

However, we can't pretend that Luca Saputo has no idea about the organization's future plans. He remains a senior director, very close to the shareholders, as you will agree. So I tried to find out more about future projects to improve Montreal's infrastructure.

“Regarding the possible bubble at Nutrilait and the project to establish a national training center in the Montreal area, collaboration with the city and the province is extremely important. Gabriel (Gervais) is doing an excellent job in this regard. We know that our corporate success cannot depend solely on us. We are ready and willing to invest in Quebec and Montreal for the future of the sport. We are very confident that everyone will work together in the coming years. The assistance and support of the various levels of government are imperative. Gabriel is primarily involved in these matters, but I feel that the current governments are on our side at the moment. There is also the Société de développement et de mise en valeur du Parc olympique, with whom our president has a very good relationship. — Luca Saputo

The future of the organization is in Montreal
I ended my interview with Luca Saputo with THE question: “Luca, is CF Montréal here to stay in Montreal? There are so many rumors in the media about Detroit, Vegas, and other North American cities that it seems like fans need reassurance.” we have never looked at the possibility of moving the team outside of Montreal. I've always wondered where the rumors linking our club to Detroit came from. And I think this is the first time I've heard about Vegas. I think that as a family, we've always shown that we're committed and dedicated to Montreal. It's never been an issue for us as a family or as a club. At the same time, I understand that there's sometimes noise. There were the Expos, the Nordiques… but I repeat: we want to be here for the long term. And believe me, we understand that the last few months have been difficult, and we understand that the fans are demanding more from us.” – Luca Saputo And how does MLS see the future of the franchise?

“Our relationship with MLS is excellent. The league respects our seriousness and our commitment to Montreal. We have a lot of credibility in their eyes, despite the last two difficult seasons. Everyone sees the team staying in Montreal. We're all building something that will ensure the long-term viability of the business, and MLS sees and recognizes that.”

Nilton Jorge and I have decided to do post-game shows in the form of Space on X. Yesterday, more than 3,000 of you tuned in to listen to our impromptu post-game show.

I don't know if we'll do it after every game, especially since many of you will be traveling when games are played at Stade Saputo and therefore won't be available to listen to—and participate in—our Space. We'll see.

Note that yesterday, I used this organic forum to share some inside information about certain players and strategies. Happy listening!

https://t.co/VeBFtjSYlm

— Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) March 8, 2026