The rumors have been circulating for several days but are now over. Canadian defender Alistair Johnston was purchased from Nashville SC by CF Montreal for a total of $1 million.
Alistair Johnston, 23, has signed a two-season deal with Montreal that will keep him in Quebec City until 2023. His contract also comes with options for 2024 and 2025.
“Thank you for the warm welcome from Montreal,” Johnston commented on Twitter. So excited to start this next trip! ”
In return, Montreal will send $750,000 in general allowance money in 2022 and $250,000 in 2023 to Nashville. Tennessee Club could benefit from 10% of a potential transfer on this million dollar amount.
It’s a huge amount, but Johnston should be worth it. The right-back is a fixture in the NBA and very quickly established himself as John Herdman’s trusted man with Canada.
He made his debut for Maple Leaf in March 2021. He has since appeared in 13 of 14 World Cup qualifying matches in Canada in 2021, playing 993 minutes. He also played five matches, it all started, in the Gold Cup.
In the walls of Montreal, Johnston will meet fellow Canadian Kamal Miller. A defensive union that should be as beneficial to the club as it is to the selection.
Johnston started in the conference semi-finals against the Philadelphia Union in the MLS playoffs, and even scored an assist in a penalty shootout loss. It was already his fifth game in a series, and his fifth start.
In two seasons in Nashville, Alistair Johnston played in 44 games, 39 of which were starters. His team conceded only 33 goals and got 13 goals in 2021, tied for first place in the league.
competition in defense
Through a press release, CF Montreal sporting director, Olivier Renard, said he was “extremely happy to welcome this young Canadian who had such a great desire to join the club”.
In addition to his spherical qualities, [Johnston] He also showed a typical mentality in the Canadian team. A versatile defender, he can play in a three-point defense or as a right-back.
Olivier Renard, sporting director of CF Montreal, in a press release
Mentioning the Triple Defense is no small feat: it’s the system that Wilfred Nancy called for in 2021. The arrival of Johnston – like centre-back Gabriel Corbo – will help renew the defensive hinge that has dogged Rudy’s departure. Camacho at the end of the season.
However, his leaning to the right could play tricks on Zachary Brault-Gillard, also a right-back.
In an interview with IMFC Radio last week, Olivier Renard stated that, in fact, “it’s a competition” for Brault-Guillard. “There is also the arrival of Gabriel Corbo who can play in these positions. He can adapt to two or three positions, and that helps us a lot.”
In a well-known area
This is a return to Montreal for Alistair Johnston: He was born in Vancouver and moved with his family to Montreal when he was 4 years old. He played for Lakeshore Football Club, before moving to Ontario at the age of seven.
Picked up on 11e She ranked first in the MLS SuperDraft in 2020, after two places from Impact, at the time, who selected Jeremy Kelly. The latter was immediately passed to Colorado Rapids for $75,000 in general allowance money.
Alistair Johnston of Nashville wrote: “What a love for this club who took the opportunity and gave me my first chance.” Thank you to all the fans for their welcome and support since day one. ”
The news was first reported by Athletic’s Sam Stijskal last Thursday.