FC Dallas signs Canadian midfielder Liam Fraser

The summer transfer window may be closed, but those last-minute moves are still being announced today.

FC Dallas has signed Canadian International midfielder Liam Fraser from Koninklijke Maatschappij Sportkring Deinze, or KMSK Deinze. The club announced today for the remainder of the 2023 season with options in both 2024 and 2025.

The 25-year old defensive midfielder returns to the United States after spending the 2022/2023 season with KMSK Deinze of the Challenger Pro League, the second tier of Belgian soccer. Across all competitions, Fraser would appear 37 times for the Belgian club tallying 2,530 minutes.

Prior to joining KMSK Deinze, Fraser would spend the final half of the 2021 season out on loan to the Columbus Crew. During his short time with the Crew, Fraser would help the Crew win its first-ever Campeones Cup title after defeating Cruz Azul on September 30, 2021. Fraser would feature for Columbus 23 times. 

Fraser signed as a Toronto FC Homegrown Player on Jan. 19, 2018, and made his debut on March 30, 2018. Across all competitions with the Reds, Fraser made 33 regular-season appearances. He also featured for Toronto FC II, where he made 64 appearances, scoring twice in three seasons. 

Fraser made his Canada National Team debut on October 15, 2019, in Canada’s 2-0 win against the United States. Fraser was most recently featured in Canada’s 2023 Gold Cup roster, where he would feature in every game for Canada. 

Fraser will not occupy an international slot for FC Dallas.

In a very Major League Soccer way of doing things, FC Dallas had to do some additional dealing to make the signing happen. They acquired the right of first refusal for Fraser from Minnesota United for $100,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money. The Loons previously acquired the rights of first refusal (ROFR) for Fraser from Toronto FC in exchange for $50,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM).

Adding more defensive support is something we’ve all been wanting out of this club in 2023. Fraser is primarily a defensive midfielder, but he can also play at center back if need be too. It helps to know that he has plenty of MLS experience under his belt, so getting caught up to the style of play of the league won’t be that big of a concern, though; I hope he can acclimate to the Texas weather fast.

It is a little concerning that his last game was over a month ago, but he did have matches in the Gold Cup, which should mean he is still pretty good fitness-wise.

This feels like another low-risk/high-reward type of signing too. They had to spend a little extra to get his player rights from Minnesota (by way of Toronto), but seeing how they brought in a large sum of GAM yesterday in the Edwin Cerrillo trade, it all works out.

Lastly, I do like that they aren’t using an international roster slot for him. Those are prized spots that can’t be wasted anymore.

What do you all make of this signing?