Our 2024 FC Dallas player recaps continue with midfielder Liam Fraser.

The Canadian international wrapped up his first full season with the club after joining last summer. The 26-year-old saw his time this season ended early after picking up an injury in mid-June.

Stat breakdown

Fraser saw his season end early in the summer after appearing in 18 games (17 of those as a starter). He had one goal and one assist. As you’ll see below, he is a fairly steady player both as a passer and as a defender. He’s not one to really facilitate the attack but at times he does get into position to score (like his goal you’ll see below).

This season, Fraser had nine shots with four of those on target (44% shots on target percentage). He had three key passes along with 68 progressive passes. In terms of xG added, he only averaged about a 0.4 total xG per game.

Defensively, he was one of the better players at defending dribblers in the midfield and winning aerial duels. He had 20 blocks, 13 interceptions, 20 clearances and 19 tackles.

Highlight

Weirdly enough, Fraser's only goal came in former head coach Nico Estevez's final game in charge against Minnesota United.

0:00
/0:44

Like we've seen a lot in our recaps this year, FC Dallas was pretty dang good at set pieces.

💵
This story is available for free to everyone. If you’d like to support us but don’t want to commit to a full subscription, you can leave us a tip of any amount.

Should we expect him back in 2025?

Fraser is an interesting one to consider. He's still relatively young (26) and on a favorable contract that doesn't hit the salary cap too much ($200k). Both of those items should be pretty favorable for his return in 2025.

The biggest thing going against him, maybe, is newcomer Show, who appears to have really locked up that starting defensive midfielder slot next to Asier Illarramendi.

Final thoughts

FC Dallas tends to be a club that will give an injured player the benefit of the doubt in a year where a player would need an option picked up to return the following year. I do believe that is what will happen with Fraser, as he is a reliable starter when he is healthy.

Even with Show on the roster, I believe Fraser is a great depth piece at a good salary cap price to have on the roster, too. The club talks all the time about roster battles in key spots and there should be a good battle for a starting spot next season with Show and Fraser.