CARSON, Calif. — The LA Galaxy announced the signing of 24-year-old Samuel Grandsir on Thursday ending a few weeks of speculation about his future. The signing will see the winger join a Galaxy squad who have been without a solid player in that position since the departure of Aleksander Katai early last season.
Grandsir will join the Galaxy on a three-year deal (plus a club option for the fourth year) from Ligue 1’s Monaco where he hasn’t played since last year’s covid-extended summer finish (2019-2020 season).
The French winger will occupy an International slot and will be signed using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) — the first TAM signing of the Greg Vanney era.
“Samuel is an attack-minded, talented player who will strengthen our roster,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Dennis te Kloese. “He has demonstrated to be an outstanding and talented player in a very respected and competitive league. We are confident he will show his potential and are excited to watch him grow even more and have him become an important part of our roster. We look forward to him joining our squad and integrating Samuel to the team.”
Grandsir joined Monaco in 2018 from Ligue 2 side Troyes for a reported fee of $3.3-million. But he only played in 12 Ligue 1 games for Monaco and was instead constantly loaned out to other teams. He made 24 appearances in the league for Stade Brest 29, and eight appearances for RC Strasbourg Alsace. His remaining games came in league cups and other competitions. And as mentioned above, he’s yet to record a minute for Monaco in the 2020/2021 season.
Internationally, he appeared for the French U-21 National Team in 2017 and 2018, and played in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifying matches.
Per transfermarkt.us Grandsir holds both French and Senegalese citizenship and has a current market value of $2.2-million — a number that has been on a mostly steady decline since signing with Monaco. His contract didn’t expire until 2023.
But Monaco is reportedly letting the player go for free, with a caveat that they retain a sell-on percentage (reported by L’Equipe) should the Galaxy resurrect his career in Major League Soccer and eventually sell him. Monaco was recently rumored to be hurting for cash, so removing a non-performing contract from their payroll is payment enough for the French club.
Grandsir is not currently in the United States as he awaits P-1 Visa clearance before making it through the 7-10 day quarantine process (Although the quarantine process seems to be changing by the hour). He could be training with the team in a matter of weeks and will slot into the right side of the midfield — a place midseason signing Yony Gonzalez temporarily filled in 2020.