EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC announced on Thursday it had acquired forward Justin Dhillon via transfer from Copa Tejas rivals San Antonio FC ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

The 28-year-old arrives after three seasons with San Antonio FC, where he recorded 16 goals and 16 assists in 83 total appearances. His 2022 USL Championship season, in which he recorded six goals and nine assists, helped pave SAFC’s path to lifting their first USL Championship trophy and Players’ Shield.

“We are happy to welcome Justin to the Locomotive family and the city of El Paso,” Head Coach and Technical Director Brian Clarhaut said. “Justin is a player whom I have followed since he was 16 and I’ve tracked his progress into professional football since, watching him win two championships in his career. Justin is a high character forward who checks all boxes for us, providing goals and assists as well as working extremely hard on both sides of the ball.

“He has the size to be a target man but is also intelligent in his off the ball movement to stretch the game for us. Like many of our other signings, he does the little things right to help teams succeed and our fans will notice that from day one.”

Dhillon has made 146 appearances in the USL Championship in his career, recording 38 goals and 20 assists. Prior to joining San Antonio, he competed for the LA Galaxy II and Tacoma Defiance, and continued to see action with the Defiance on loan after signing with Seattle Sounders FC midway through the 2019 Major League Soccer season.

“El Paso has always been a strong team in the West and I’m excited to be joining this side,” said Dhillon. “I know what it takes to win a championship and the level of commitment that is required. As a striker with my experience, I hope to bring goals and to lead with a level of intensity from the front to cultivate a culture that will bring a trophy to El Paso. Between the coaching, the talent and the club’s support, I feel like this group can achieve something special.”

Analysis

Justin Dhillon makes the move between the Copa Tejas rivals and should provide a reliable forward option for Locomotive FC that can both finish and create in the final third. Dhillon has only had one season in which he has scored double-digit goals – with Tacoma in the 2019 campaign – but his value for San Antonio has been as much in his hold-up play and ability to create as it has been in his finishing.

With a powerful 6-foot-4 frame, Dhillon has 13 assists in the past two seasons while playing in San Antonio’s aggressive front-foot style. Those qualities should prove invaluable for Locomotive FC, which scored only 41 goals in the regular season a season ago and needs more consistency in the final third in the upcoming campaign.