It has been a very busy off-season for Toronto FC.
The renovations began last December when a host of roster decisions were made and have continued apace since then.
The addition of defender Shane O’Neill as a free agent later that month was the first incoming move, then came the blockbuster signing of forward Lorenzo Insigne to a pre-contract that will see him arrive in Toronto mid-season.
A handful of youthful additions followed in the inking of defender Luca Petrasso and forward Deandre Kerr to homegrown deals, as well as the re-signing of Ayo Akinola.
Toronto also added a little more varied and local experience by bringing in goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh, a native of Scarborough, Ontario, and defender Lukas MacNaughton, who spent the last three seasons with Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC after playing in League1 Ontario and at the University of Toronto.
The club made another big splash with the arrival of Mexican international defender Carlos Salcedo from Tigres UANL and on Monday morning another move was announced with the transfer of Spanish forward Jesus Jimenez from Polish club Gornik Zabrze.
Player movement is just one part of the process building into a new era at the club under Bob Bradley.
“When I just look at what we've been able to do in this first part of preseason – the quality of the training sessions, implementation of ideas – those things are going really well,” said the TFC Head Coach and Sporting Director last week. “But I still think that making sure that we have put together the best possible roster, a roster that has experience, a roster that has young talent, a roster where players all feel good about what's going on, where there's a real level of excitement that comes out every day when they show up, how they get along, how they train.”
“A lot has gone on in this early part of preseason, I see all sorts of things that are going in a good direction,” he added. “But I'll continue to say there's more work that needs to be done.”
There have been a variety of focuses in the acquisition strategy. Star power (Insigne), defensive ability (Salcedo), experience in MLS (O’Neill), North America (Ranjitsingh), and abroad (Jimenez, well, a number of them really) at some of the highest levels of the game.
But clearly youth has been a focus.
Keeping Akinola was vital, but in Kerr and Petrasso TFC sees two guys with loads of potential.
Kerr, 19, spent time with the TFC Academy before heading to Syracuse University. A Toronto-native, he scored twice in TFC’s first preseason match against the LA Galaxy.
“It's too early to say what role (I foresee for Deandre), but I'm so excited to see what some of the young players are all about,” said Bradley. “Deandre comes in, he's a little bit shy and quiet, but now we show him certain ideas on the training field, we connect the dots with certain video, and now to see, in the first game against the Galaxy, him apply some of the things.”
“He was able to get from outside in, something that I talk about a lot: wide attackers who don't just play out on the touchline, but get from outside in. When you show these guys video of players like Mohamed Salah, who have those qualities, and to see a little of that come out in Deandre, that felt great,” he continued. “And so if we can continue to build on that, then the upside is great.”
“I’m really excited with him, Jayden Nelson, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, these guys are really fun guys to work with great personalities, Noble Okello. They want to get better,” highlighted Bradley. “And there's also a core of veterans that really do a good job of speaking to those players every day. Those are some of the things that I've been excited about since we got started.”
Petrasso, 21, a left-sided full-back/attacker who has been with the club since 2016, joins the first team after a standout season for TFC II where he led the team in appearances, starts, and minutes played, scoring one goal and adding three assists through 28 matches.
“Anybody that's been around Luca knows that there's football in him,” said Bradley. “Smart player, good left foot, a player that now has potential to be developed as a left back, but can still play roles in the midfield.”
“For me, it's just trying to get a better feel for him every day. One of the things that we've talked about with so many of these guys is just their ability to think and see things faster. Players oftentimes, if the game goes a certain speed, you see football, but now when the game gets faster, their ability to stay connected and really keep up, that's the part that is so important as you transition up the ladder,” he explained. “The tempo of our training sessions, typically very fast, trying to get guys to get more accustomed to everything that's going on around them faster.”
“The oldest saying in the book is, ‘In a not so good game the windows to make plays are big and they stay open a long time. And in a really good game the window is small and it closes very fast,’” relayed Bradley. “And so we try to make training more the second category and see, little-by-little, which players can adapt.”
A number of other TFC II and Academy players have been involved in training camp.
“It's been really good to have TFC II guys and whether they're a little bit more experienced like Dante Campbell or whether it's young guys, Kosi Thompson and others, that part of getting them experience, getting to see them up close every day is really important,” said Bradley, evaluating the open spaces in the developmental and supplemental roster spots. “Yes, those are all things that we'll be thinking about as we start working to finish up the roster.”
In MacNaughton, 26, and Ranjitsingh, 28, Toronto adds a pair of players entering their primes who have taken winding career paths that provide different kinds of experience.
“Lukas had a fantastic season for Pacific last year,” said Bradley. “I watched a lot of their games and his presence in the team, his personality. And then since he's arrived, you could just tell he's a really good guy. He works hard. He's somebody that's going to push everyone around them in the right way.”
“Greg I got to know a little bit last year, he was the pool goalkeeper in MLS, and so he spent eight or nine days with LAFC,” he detailed. “What I love about Greg is how important it was for him to come back and be part of this in Toronto. He feels so strongly about the city and the club. He really wanted to be part of it. He's a goalkeeper that still has a big upside, so excited to bring both.”
Prior to his time as an MLS pool keeper, Ranjitsingh, spent four years with Louisville City FC where he was a vital member of their back-to-back USL Cup winning sides in 2017 and 2018 before MLS beckoned.
But it was not just on the field that TFC strengthened, as it was also announced last week that Justin Morrow officially joined the front office as Technical Development Manager.
Morrow, who retired last season, will bring the assets that made him a well-respected and much-loved member of the squad into this next phase of his career.
“Intelligence, character values, a love of the club,” listed Bradley. “Justin, all of you know him, so I don't need to tell you what it's like when you're around him, he brings out the best in people and that the announcement comes on the first day of Black History Month, the role that he has played with the Black Players for Change.”
“He's a fantastic guy,” he added. “When I think about the young players that we have in the academy, one of the roles that Justin has in terms of a pathway to the first team, I know that he will be someone that makes everything around the club better every day.”
It’s been a busy off-season. And it’s not over yet.
“When I talk about building the roster, I would highlight that that doesn't mean that it's all going to happen by the start of the season,” reminded Bradley. “It's a work in progress.”
“The way MLS rules work there are certain things that can happen quickly; there's other things that take time,” he continued. “There's always the part that as we establish our ideas and how we want to do things and try to get the right football, the right energy every day, then you see the response of every player.”
“You need guys that really want to be here. You need guys that are excited about what's going on, see what's going on football wise and are just absolutely all in,” Bradley stressed. “There are still possibilities of things to happen prior to the start of the season and then we'll assess as we get into it what we can do to still improve.”
