Legion acquires Rida Zouhir on loan

The Legion announced late yesterday that it has acquired midfielder Rida Zouhir on loan from CF Montréal of MLS.

Zouhir is a 20-year-old Montréal native and plays for his hometown team under a homegrown contract, appearing for the first team every year since 2021. He has also played briefly for their U23 team (Montréal does not have an MLS Next Pro team, one of only two teams that don’t, DC United being the other). Most of his professional playing experience was last year on loan with San Antonio, where he scored 8 goals and made 4 assists in 25 appearances. Ironically, San Antonio could really use him this season right now.

Back in Canada this season he has appeared 9 times, 7 in MLS and twice in the Canada Cup for a total of 349 minutes (180 in the Cup) but no goals scored. His last game was back in May, though, so he could be a tad rusty. Additionally, he is of Moroccan descent and has in fact played for both the Moroccan and Canadian U20 teams.

Posting on X earlier today, I noted that seemed like a strange decision on Montréal’s part, as they are in a very close playoff race. However, it appears that the team is finalizing a deal to acquire Caden Clark from Minnesota United. Clark and Zouhir are both attacking central mids, so it looks like the latter had to make room.

And that role is exactly why the Legion wanted him. Most likely he would serve as the more advanced half of a double pivot alongside Kobe Hernandez-Foster, possibly displacing Jake Rufe, or at least spelling him. Depending on player availability, that would mean he probably plays in a 4-2-3-1 that adjusts to a a 4-1-4-1 in attack. The 4-3-3, which the Legion has used a fair amount this year, seems less likely now.

Finally, and this is important, Zouhir is in the last year of his contract with Montréal although the club has an option for 2025. With the pending addition of Clark, exercising that option may have just gotten less probable, meaning that the Legion could be in a strong position to sign him on a permanent deal.