Friday was a day when a slew of moves happened. Not one, not two, but three players were announced: a new Designated Player, a player with MLS experience, and one that was a head-scratcher. The hope is these new players can help the club as soon as possible, but there might be a wait until a few corresponding moves happen.
The first move to be announced Friday morning was the acquisition of Dagur Dan Thórhallsson from CF Montréal in exchange for $350,000 in GAM in 2026 and another $150,000 in GAM in 2027. There is also conditional GAM of $125,000 to Montréal if certain metrics are met. Thórhallsson is another player who has not seen playing time in 2026, just like other acquisitions in this window, Ian Murphy and Gabriel Pirani. Thórhallsson played in 10 matches, started seven, and logged over 600 minutes in his first season with Montréal. Over the winter transfer window, Thórhallsson was acquired by CF Montréal from Orlando City for $500,000 in GAM in 2026 and a conditional $125,000 in GAM in 2027 if certain metrics are met. It seems like Montréal made their money back in their deal with San Diego, while San Diego is pulling a player from a team that will most likely end up in the cellar of the standings.
What is interesting about Thórhallsson’s time with Orlando City were the many goal contributions he had primarily playing right back. In three seasons with Orlando, Thórhallsson had nine goals and 10 assists in over 5,500 minutes. Back in 2024, when Thórhallsson had one of his best seasons in Orlando, he ranked seventh in progressive carries among fullbacks with over 2,000 minutes played. He was ninth in pass completion at 83.3%, second in danger zone entry score at +11.18%, and had 27 non-penalty shots, which tied him with Jordi Alba. On the defensive side, Thórhallsson was third in defensive aerials won at 60%, recorded 146 defensive contributions, and tallied 137 recoveries. Thórhallsson is an intriguing right back because he can be a threat on the attack while still holding his own on defense. For San Diego, some stability is needed in that position, and he could be a great link to Anders Dreyer playing on the same side.
The second acquisition to be announced was the rumored Designated Player, Elias Achouri, from FC Copenhagen. In three seasons with Copenhagen, Achouri had 10 goals and 24 assists. This is a player San Diego absolutely needs right now on the left wing. He knows how to create chances, is a shooter, can cross the ball into the box, and can dribble into traffic. He is the type of creative winger needed not only to create chances for Marcus Ingvartsen and Anders Dreyer, but also to create chances for himself. This is a player who has played in big matches in the World Cup and Champions League, and he won the league with Copenhagen back in the 2024–2025 season. A little more about Achouri: he plays for the Tunisian National Team, but he is originally from Saint-Denis on Réunion Island, a territory of France. Achouri played his youth football with Saint-Étienne in France before moving to Vitória Guimarães in the Portuguese league, staying in Portugal to play for Estoril from 2020 to 2022. During his time at Estoril, Achouri went on loan with Trofense during the 2021–2022 season. A year later, he got a taste of the Danish league with Viborg for one season before heading over to Copenhagen in 2023.
Now, some people have asked: is Achouri worth a Designated Player spot? Most consider the DP spot to be a very lucrative designation reserved for big-name stars like David Beckham, Chicharito, Lionel Messi, and Gareth Bale. While many fans want that spot used on aging stars to squeeze out the last remaining good years of their careers, some clubs use DP slots on the potential of younger players who can become cornerstones of their club for years to come. What SDFC is buying for a reported $3 million transfer fee is the skillset and potential for this player to become a top performer in MLS, just like Anders Dreyer. Dreyer came over from the Belgian league, was not a household name, and turned out to be a top player in the league in 2025. Achouri is around the same age as Dreyer, and this tandem could do serious damage to the league for the next few years. With players at the tail end of their careers, you never know when the end is near. It could be after season one or two, but you always know retirement is just around the corner.
With that said, Elias Achouri will be wearing number 99. Another left winger and fellow Frenchman who wears number 99 in this league is Denis Bouanga. Bouanga spent years in France’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, scoring 69 times with 28 assists for Tours, Nîmes, Lorient, and Saint-Étienne. Before coming over to MLS, Bouanga had 11 goal contributions in the 2020–2021 season for Saint-Étienne and 15 in the 2021–2022 season before they were relegated down to Ligue 2. At 27 years old, Bouanga came to MLS after his club was sent down, and at the time, the transfer fee for Bouanga was $5 million. Since arriving, Bouanga has produced 25+ goal contributions each year he has been in the league. The hope should be that Achouri can replicate Bouanga’s path and absolutely ball out in MLS.
Lastly, in a classic Friday afternoon news dump move, San Diego FC announced the signing of goalkeeper Marcus Alstrup through the 2026 season, with club options for the sprint season in 2027 and the regular season of 2027–2028. This move was a head-scratcher because Alstrup has not been with a club since the end of last season, when he made 28 appearances for Austin FC II in MLS NEXT Pro. He has also jumped around the Danish league with Odense BK, Sønderjyske Fodbold, and B.93. Alstrup could be on the roster as an “unavailable” player, just like Anisse Saidi was when he was on the team, ready to play if there is an injury to the two goalkeepers ahead of him. Alternatively, this could mean that one of the three goalkeepers currently on the roster is making a move elsewhere via transfer or loan. Having a fourth goalkeeper does not make sense unless a corresponding move is coming.
How much is this all costing?
Let’s talk about the GAM portion first. SDFC has brought in MLS players who were already in the league, like Ian Murphy, Gabriel Pirani, and Dagur Thórhallsson. Achouri would receive a budget charge for half of the season due to joining in the summer, so that cap hit would only be around $401k. Marcus Alstrup likely does not need to be counted toward the cap; as a young player, he will most likely fill a supplemental roster spot. Through all the GAM traded away plus the GAM needed for the new players and their budget charges, SDFC has spent around $2.3 million in GAM. That means when it is all said and done, they will have about $1.5 million remaining that could roll over into next year. In real dollars, San Diego is taking on a $3 million transfer fee along with Achouri’s salary, which has not been officially reported but could be around Dreyer’s compensation. In total real dollars, that represents an additional $8.5 million spent this transfer window. We will get the full picture on Achouri’s compensation when official salary numbers come out this fall.
The next question is how all these pieces will fit together. For Achouri, Thórhallsson, and Alstrup to be added to the roster, three players must be transferred, released, or loaned out. Two players have to come off the senior roster and one off the supplemental roster. Corresponding moves should be coming soon.
So Was It A Penalty?
On the last Chromaniacs episode, we discussed the penalty call that wasn’t. In the 87th minute, SDFC had a corner kick. Jeppe Tverskov was taken down on the play, and the referee had a VAR check and determined it was not a penalty. Mikey Varas had something to say about the play during his post-game conference. Now, we have more audio from Mikey after speaking to the league confirming that it should have been a penalty.
Listen to Darren Smith’s pregame with Mikey here
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