Grading Every Summer 2026 CANMNT Transfer

This summer’s football transfer window has come and gone, and with it, several Canadian internationals will now be calling new clubs home. For some, this change is permanent until they’re loaned/transferred elsewhere, and for others, they’ve only been loaned and are expected to return to their parent clubs someday.

With that said, I thought it’d be a fun exercise to grade every major CANMNT transfer that has occurred over the course of this window, on a scale from A+ to F and everything in between. There is not a universal set of guidelines for how I will be grading transfers, but generally, from the perspective of a CANMNT fan, I will be looking foremost at how the move is expected to impact the player’s career. There will be some consideration for the clubs involved too, but these grades are primarily player-focused.

Without further ado, here are the grades for every major summer 2026 CANMNT Transfer!

Owen Goodman (GK, 22 y/o) -> Dundee United

Loaned to Dundee United, departing from Barnsley, owned by Crystal Palace
Grade: B+

While Dundee is a mostly lateral move compared to Goodman’s recent League One loan spells, I think there’s just something different about playing top flight football. While Goodman would have had the occasional cup match vs a strong English team in the EFL, he will now regularly play against Europe-structured clubs in Celtic, Rangers, and Hearts. These clubs are not necessary Prem level, but they are certainly stronger than virtually every League One club. Goodman will also frequently play even weaker clubs, but I digress.

It’ll be a slow climb for Goodman if he ever wants to secure the spot as Crystal Palace’s No. 1, but incremental steps-up like this are what will get him there. As a CANMNT transfer, this move further solidifies Goodman as one of Canada’s only top-flight European league keepers.

Luc de Fougerolles (CB, 20 y/o) -> Real Salt Lake

Loaned to Real Salt Lake, departing from Dender, owned by Fulham
Grade: D

Any position where De Fougerolles will be playing regular football is not catastrophic, which is why this move is not an F, but it is worse than every rumour that he was involved in. LDF was rumoured to go to a Championship or lower-half Serie A side and join their first-team. There was even the possibility that he’d stay on Fulham as CB3 or CB4. Any of those options were better than Real Salt Lake, a club in a league that is not exactly renowned for its developmental ability.

If this loan is short, it shouldn’t be too bad. I wouldn’t be worried regardless; 20 is incredibly young for a centreback. Still, De Fougerolles could have ended up in an exponentially better spot.

Niko Sigur (RB, 23 y/o)

Sold to Toulouse from Hajduk Split for $6.5 million.
Grade: A-

This is a very solid transfer for Sigur. For one, Toulouse is in a Top 5 League, which, while weaker than the other leagues in this 5, still features no shortage of international football talent. On top of this, Sigur will now be teaming up with fellow Canadian international, Jacen Russell-Rowe.

My favourite part of this transfer, though, is that Toulouse has become a club that thrives on developing and selling young talent. Most recently, the club has overseen the explosions of Emersonn and Dayann Methalie before selling them to Prem clubs for €28M each. The latter is a Toulouse youth product. This club is good at developing players, and this might be the step that Sigur needs before becoming a star.

Stephen Eustáquio (CM, 29 y/o)

Sold to Swansea City from Porto for ~£3.4 million.
Grade: A

This grade may look very high, but I rate the Championship, I highly rate Swansea, and I think that this is a perfect place for Staq, who is now approaching the other side of 30.

Do I think that Eustáquio could still fight for a first-team spot at a club equal to or better than Porto? Absolutely. Do I think that starring for a promotion-contending Championship side is even better? Yes, I honestly do.

As of today, Swansea sits atop the Championship table and have looked excellent. Staq has been a large part of this, and if the club does win promotion, he has the type of profile that would allow him to stay in rotation for the club’s Prem campaign. I don’t think that he could ask for much more than an abundance of minutes in a great league with a chance to do something big.

Liam Millar (LM, 26 y/o)

Loaned to Birmingham City from Hull City
Grade: B-

This is a very expected move, but it still hurts. Millar is not a Prem-level winger, but it would have been nice to see him get some minutes for this Hull side. Especially after he scored a winning goal in the club’s second game, this departure is bittersweet.

Birmingham is expected to be a good side in the Championship, and Millar should play a lot of minutes there, which is why this isn’t a bad move by any means, but I still selfishly wish that he’d have stayed with Hull ahead of this historic season for the club.

Nathan-Dylan Saliba (CM, 22 y/o)

Transferred to Villarreal from RSC Anderlecht for ~€15 million
Grade: A+

Saliba could not have asked for a much better transfer than this. He’ll be playing alongside two (!) countrymen in Tajon Buchanan and Tani Oluwaseyi, for a club in the second best league in the world, which is also playing Champions League football.

Perhaps best of all is that Saliba will be given a chance to prove himself. He walks into Villarreal as the CM3 or CM4, which means that he’ll be getting a lot of playing time, especially with the club playing in Europe. This means that he can cement himself. If he’s not at this level, that’s okay too — but he will have the chance to prove that he is at this level — and that’s all that a footballer can ask for.

Jayden Nelson (LW, 23 y/o)

Transferred to Bolton from Austin FC for ~$2 million
Grade: A-

I am a firm believer that the MLS is less than ideal for development, so a move out of there is typically a good move. And while Bolton is expected to be one of the worst teams in the Championship, they’re still in the championship. A lot of reps here can only be good for development.

Jonathan David (ST, 26 y/o)

Loaned to Atlético Madrid from Juventus
Grade: C+

This is a tough one to grade. If the Iceman is still the same player that he was at Lille, he can absolutely thrive in Atléti’s rotation. If Juventus has permanently destroyed him, though, he’s probably going to have a tough time breaking through a striker tandem of Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sørloth.

I don’t hate this move for David. I’d actually love it if Álvarez to Barcelona ended up going through. Still, a part of me thinks that he’d be better off going to a place where he doesn’t need to fight for a spot — especially in a time of his career where his confidence seems destroyed.

Promise David (ST, 25 y/o)

Loaned to Brighton from Union St. Gilloise with a buy option of £22 million.
Grade: A+

This is the CANMNT transfer of this past window. Promise moves to a club which has cemented itself as a consistent mid-table or better club, one which is playing European football this season, and one which is renowned for its ability to scout and develop lesser-known talent.

If Promise is anywhere near the level that I think he is, this transfer could go two ways: one, he plays UECL matches and mostly comes off the bench in the Prem, cementing himself as a super-sub akin to what we saw in the World Cup.

The second option, which is equally as viable, is that he truly breaks out at Brighton, and puts himself in contention to be the best CONCACAF footballer. Only time will tell, but it’s hard to imagine a better destination for Tobi.

A Brief Ranking of Every CANMNT Transfer this Window

This isn’t really an easily quantifiable thing to do, but here’s how I would rank every CANMNT transfer from this window that was discussed in this article: