When Major League Soccer’s secondary transfer window opened July 24, the Los Angeles Football Club was an exhausted, short-handed team in dire need of reinforcements.
Veteran defender Ryan Hollingshead and his teammates had been up against it since the surprise opportunity to participate in the Club World Cup. With that came heavy minutes during a congested schedule, devastating injuries, suspensions, absences and early departures that stretched the roster to its limits.
But four weeks later, with 10 regular-season games and the MLS Cup playoffs to go, “I like where we’re at right now,” Hollingshead said.
And that was prior to LAFC’s last transaction at the transfer deadline Thursday.
Adding to South Korean superstar Son Heung-min, Canadian midfielder Mathieu Choinière and Scottish center back Ryan Porteous, the club announced Thursday that it acquired 21-year-old Irish midfielder and winger Andy Moran from English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on loan as a U-22 signing through the remainder of the year, with an option to buy.
Seeking help for each area of the field except goalkeeper, the front office led by co-president and general manager John Thorrington, the 2024 MLS Executive of the Year, gave the players and departing head coach Steve Cherundolo everything they could have wanted as their four-season run together comes to an end.
Every window elicits hope from players and coaches that new signings will quickly bolster teams. LAFC midfielder Mark Delgado crossed his fingers it would turn out to be true this time. To say it has thus far, particularly in regards to Son, is a massive understatement.
The 33-year-old Tottenham Hotspur legend played 120 minutes the last two games, including through full time in a 2-0 win at New England last weekend that included his first assist in an LAFC uniform.
“You can see, without even scoring he is affecting the game so much,” said Choinière, who benefitted from Son’s assist to score his first goal with the club. “He’s been perfect. We are so happy to have him.”
The road win against the Revolution lifted LAFC (11-6-7, 40 points) into fifth place in the Western Conference as it tries another late-season surge in the standings.
Following last weekend’s performance, Delgado called Son the “missing piece” that amplifies LAFC’s fluidity and links up plays in ways the team struggled to do consistently through two-thirds of 2025.
“We were very much up and down,” Delgado said. “I think the addition of Sonny here is just going to bring everything together.”
Son’s ability to serve as an outlet and relieve pressure also boosted the team on the defensive side of the pitch.
Most impressed by Son’s in-game intelligence while adapting to MLS and LAFC, “he’s only been here a couple weeks but it feels like he’s been here a year,” Cherundolo said.
Among the other signings, Choinière also transitioned well after arriving on a loan July 28. Porteous and Moran must await their immigration papers before suiting up.
The Porteous signing appeared to fill a particular need that arose shortly before the start of the transfer window, when LAFC captain Aaron Long went down with a season-ending Achilles injury.
Long’s misfortune opened the door for former FC Dallas center back Nkosi Tafari, who will visit his old stomping grounds in Texas this weekend as the Black & Gold visit Los Toros attempting to take seven of nine points over three consecutive away games.
Starting eight straight matches after barely seeing the field, Tafari has emerged “almost like a new signing,” said Cherundolo, who “couldn’t be happier and more impressed with how Nkosi has handled himself.”
Ahead of an “all business” return to 11th-place Dallas (7-11-8, 29 points), which has three home wins in 13 tries, Tafari agreed with Hollingshead, another former Dallas defender: “I feel a really good vibe with the group.”
LAFC AT FC DALLAS
When: 5:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
TV/Radio: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)/710 AM, 980 AM