After an August trade from Minnesota United, Wayzata native Caden Clark has rediscovered confidence and goal-scoring with CF Montreal in September.

With two goals across 359 minutes in five total matches, Clark spoke freely Saturday about his goalless 23-game stint with his home-state Loons.

“Why do I feel so comfortable? Why do I feel like I can do certain things I didn’t do before?” Clark asked after scoring a goal in a 2-0 win over Chicago Fire. “It’s just who I am, really. Nothing has changed. I talked to my dad about it. ‘What do you do differently?’ This and that. It’s nothing. It’s my mindset. It’s staying calm, and trust in yourself.

“I think, in Minnesota, it was tough for me,” Clark continued. “It was really tough. The coach was asking 10,000 different things from me, and right back.”

Clark smiled and added: “That was my struggle.”

Clark’s words reached MNUFC head coach Eric Ramsay.

“I can’t imagine that he would wake up the following morning thinking it’s a sensible way to talk about his ex-club, in any way,” Ramsay told the Pioneer Press on Tuesday. “But he’s entitled to say what he wants, and we wish him nothing but the best from here.”

Clark considers himself an attacking midfielder; that’s where he’s been playing in Montreal; and that’s where he started playing for the Loons from February into May. But Ramsay moved Clark to wingback on a five-man back line for the majority of his time in Minnesota. That defensive spot where the club projected the now-21-year-old to be best suited.

When it didn’t work out — includuing Clark being a late scratch in two matches — Loons’ chief soccer officer Khaled El-Ahmad traded Clark for $50,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM) and up to $100,000 in GAM if Clark meets performance marks. The Loons also retain a sell-on percentage if Clark is transferred out of MLS.

Clark’s frustration at how things went in Minnesota is understandable. He was coming off a difficult stint at RB Leipzig in Germany and was looking forward to a homecoming, where he could play matches in front of family on weekends and hang out with friends after training sessions on weekdays.

Clark was brought to Minnesota via a marginal transfer fee by former Loons manager Adrian Heath and Clark would have played in attacking positions in Heath’s free-flowing offensive system.

But Heath was fired in October; Clark arrived in January; Ramsay came in March.

In some ways, Ramsay is a polar opposite to the elder Heath. The 32-year-old has shown himself to be a detailed, defensive-focused tactician. He will look to add more parameters for players to play within — not subtract them. And he looks for players with versatility to play multiple positions within his systems.

Clark said Saturday he’s “never had more fun” playing on a team than right now. Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois is a big reason for that.

“He just gives me freedom and trust,” Clark said. “I worked hard to earn that, he’s given it back to me, and now it’s paying off for both of us. It’s just the trust and freedom, and not asking me to be in this spot at this time. He’s trusting me in my play style to really manipulate players and play my own game, so I really, really appreciate that. And hopefully it will keep working going forward.”

From 2019-21, Ramsay coached the Under-23 team at Chelsea, a London club often loaded with talented young players. He used his experience in the academy of an English Premier League club when discussing Clark.

“I’ve seen countless players over my time, particularly Chelsea, that you think, ‘OK, top, top players, really good players, but there’s absolutely no way that if they stay here, they’re going to reach their potential,’ ” Ramsay said. “So I think Caden, we felt like he was one of them. It just wasn’t a good fit. Him and the environment weren’t well suited. And perhaps some in the area (of) being a home guy, and the pressure that that brings, hopefully (he) really goes and flourishes over there. Fingers crossed it’s the start of that.”

For Ramsay, well-wishes to Clark are the respectful and professional thing to express, but if Clark gets back on the trajectory of being a highly regarded U.S. youth international while playing in attacking positions, MNUFC’s assessment of Clark’s positioning and future in Minnesota won’t reflect as kindly.