Mathieu Choinière set to return to MLS with LAFC - what to expect from CanMNT midfielder at new club?

Mathieu Choinière’s short European adventure looks set to come to an end, as the former CF Montréal academy graduate is on the verge of a return to MLS, per reports from The Athletic.

After spending just one year with Swiss side Grasshopper, who he joined on a transfer worth just under a million euros last summer, Choinière will come back to North America, but to join LAFC. 

Naturally, it’s a move that makes a lot of sense for both parties, as LAFC actually are the majority owners of Grasshopper, acquiring their stake in the club at the beginning of 2024. Because of that, it’s a good spot for Choinière to land at a crucial time, as he looks to stay in top form in a league he’s familiar with as he pushes to earn significant minutes for the CanMNT at next summer’s World Cup. 

At the same time, it feels like a strange move for the midfielder, at least when looking at the bigger picture. After pushing hard to leave Montréal last year, first demanding a trade amid contract negotiations before heading to Switzerland in August, it was expected he’d stay in Europe for multiple years, perhaps using Grasshopper as a stepping stone to a higher level. 

Mathieu Choinière’s debut goal🚨

Great start to Choinière’s debut with Grasshopper, as he found the net in the first half vs Servette to open his Grasshopper account

Great header, too, as he shows he can be dangerous on the end of set-pieces#CanMNTpic.twitter.com/NteJJtvH8R

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) September 21, 2024

Instead, his lone season with Grasshopper ended up being an adventure, as he featured just 18 times for a total of 826 minutes, making just two starts once the calendar flipped to 2025, after starting six times in his first seven appearances last fall. Granted, an injury played a big role in his dwindling minutes, as he missed almost three months of action between November and February, but it was surprising not to see him regain his place even as the club fought relegation towards the end of the season, only maintaining first division status via a playoff.

Because of that, Choinière has decided to return to MLS in search of more minutes, albeit with one of the most successful clubs in the league, one looking to beef up after participating in the Club World Cup earlier this summer. 

Plus, he joins a club that has proven to be a decent spot for Canadians over the last few years - fellow CF Montréal academy graduate Maxime Crépeau had an excellent stint at the club, while Mark Anthony Kaye, Doneil Henry, Ryan Raposo and Thomas Hasal are some of the Canadians that have gone through or remain at the club. 

There, Choinière is expected to be able to carve out a significant role in a light LAFC midfield, too. Under Steve Cherundolo, LAFC have mostly preferred to play a 4-3-3, sometimes using a 3-4-3, which is good news for Choinière, as he’ll fit in nicely in both set-ups, but especially the former. 

The one lock in midfield is their defensive midfielder, Igor Jesus, who is fourth on the team in minutes, but Choinière will hope to be able to compete with their two preferred box-to-box midfielders, Mark Delgado and Timothy Tillman, who have usually started alongside Jesus in that 4-3-3. 

Of the two, Delgado is the more natural comparison to Choinière, as Delgado is more of an all-action midfielder known for his motor, while Tillman is a more offensively inclined box-crasher. For Choinière, who is similarly known for his impressive motor and good all-around skills (especially on the ball), it’d make sense for him to try and usurp Delgado to create a three-player midfield with Jesus and Tillman, but there’s also value in an all-action midfield of Jesus, Delgado and Choinière with Tillman bringing offensive oomph off the bench. 

GOAL 🇨🇦

The #CanMNT find their breakthrough! Jonathan David makes up for his missed penalty with a tidy finish to open the scoring 🎯

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/FJgYQRvOTG

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 25, 2025

Plus, for what it’s worth, all three will likely rotate between each other significantly, as LAFC have no other midfielders on their squad with more than 500 minutes. That’s why Choinière’s arrival is so key, as he doesn’t just give them another quality starting option in midfield, but bolsters their depth at an important position, too. 

Yet, that shows the upside of this move for Choinière - at the very least, he’ll come in and rotate with Delgado and Tillman to give them rest, which should get him consistent minutes regardless, with the best-case scenario being that he wins a spot and becomes a regular starter in the stretch run and into the playoffs. 

Returning to that midfield group, however, how does Choinière stack up against his new teammates? For what it’s worth, despite his limited minutes in Switzerland, he still has some decent numbers, as he was a strong dribbler and got lots of shots off, and was otherwise solid in his defensive, passing and chance creation numbers.

That’s similar to what he brought in MLS, where he did a lot of important defending and ball progression, also showing flashes in terms of his final third product. 

Now, another big question will be what version of Choinière LAFC gets. When looking at his numbers, there was a clear dip from his 2023 Montréal numbers to his 2024 Montréal numbers, both in counting stats (he went from 6G/4A in 2023 across all competitions to 2G/2A in 2024) and advanced numbers. 

Set piece perfection from Mathieu Choinière 🙌@cfmontreal take a 3-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/1JNE3I3NHo

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 30, 2024

Of course, those can be explained by the fact that he was dealing with the trade rumours in 2024 and that his team got off to a poor start to the year, but that’s still something worth watching. When comparing his 2023 numbers to Tillman and Delgado’s 2025 numbers, Choinière edges them in non-penalty xG, expected assists, npxG+xA, progressive carries, tackles+interceptions, blocks and clearances, which is exciting.

By comparison, his 2024 numbers only clear both Tillman and Delgado in two categories - clearances and % of dribblers tackled, which is less than ideal. 

That’s important to note, as LAFC inheriting the 2023 version of Choinière could see him take over Tillman’s spot, offering more final product than Tillman, even if he doesn’t have the same passing numbers as him, especially when considering what he’d bring defensively. On the flipside, the 2024 version would compare closer to Delgado, and even then, Delgado’s numbers are superior in most categories, so it’d be hard for him to supplant him.

Of course, there’s another factor to consider - Choinière’s growth with the CanMNT over the last year, as he’s become a Canadian regular since last summer, featuring in 14 of Canada’s last 15 games (nine times as a starter for a total of 823 minutes) after playing just three times (for a total 58 minutes) before then. 

There, he’s carved out a role thanks to his aggressive defensive play, doing a great job of fulfilling the pressing requirements Jesse Marsch demands of his players, while also offering good quality on the ball. 

Given that he had only just started to break in under Marsch when he left Montréal, he didn’t get to use what he’d learned as a Canadian starter with his old club. 

Yet, that helps give an idea of what the expectations for Choinière will be for LAFC. Ideally, he hits the levels he hit in 2023 in terms of his actions on the ball in the final third, while combining that with the defensive game he plays for Canada, making him a true box-to-box force. 

Mathieu Choinière makes it 3-0 for #CFMTL, with that Romell Quioto assist! pic.twitter.com/VLRfBWi3gF

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 8, 2023

He does that, and minutes will be easy to come by for LAFC - otherwise, he’ll remain in a closely contested battle with Tillman and Delgado, one where he’ll be at a disadvantage given the familiarity both will have with this team and this system. 

To be fair, the big goal from a CanMNT perspective will be for Choinière to have a big 2026 campaign for LAFC, helping boost his World Cup stock, but with a competitive midfield battle brewing with Canada, he’ll want to hit the ground running in 2025.

That’s why he made the move when he did, and he hopes to show the value as soon as this fall, when Canada’s next set of friendlies come around, where he wants to show that he has every shot of starting for this team next summer. It won’t be an easy battle, as he goes up against Nathan Saliba, Ismaël Koné and Niko Sigur to claim that spot alongside Stephen Eustáquio in Canada’s double pivot, but Marsch clearly rates Choinière, so now it’ll be up for him to prove he can earn a regular role for club and country.