It didn’t take long after the New Year for MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke to make his biggest splashes in Toronto.
Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley were introduced on Monday morning as TFC’s two newest designated player signings.
Rumblings of Defoe’s signing away from the EPL and Tottenham Hotspur were originally reported in November. However, news was put to rest quite quickly and things did not pick up until late in December when Leiweke explained that once the European transfer window opened in the New Year, signings would be fast and furious.
Jermain Defoe
Michael Bradley’s negotiations were well hidden on the contrary. The deal itself was not reported until last week when AS Roma posted on their website that Bradley had agreed to a transfer to North America’s Major League Soccer.
In addition to Gilberto, who was signed in December, these two transfers pretty much complete the massive off-season spending spree that Leiweke promised after Toronto FC failed to make the playoffs for the seventh straight season in 2013. With Matias Laba as the fourth designated player (MLS only allows three per team), we can expect to see either a trade, a transfer, or a restructuring of his contract in the near future.
When we look at the two transfers announced on Monday, most people will look at Defoe as the better acquisition. How can you blame them though?
Jermain Defoe is only 31 and has plenty of soccer left in him. He also brings an extremely impressive track record with him to Toronto. With 142 goals in all competitions, he is the fifth highest goal scorer in Tottenham’s history. He is also Tottenham’s highest scorer in European competitions, finding the back of the net 23 times. He is a striker who plays with pace as he is not one of the bigger strikers in the game, so service from the midfield will be instrumental in him being effective with in Toronto. None the less, the goals will finally come for Toronto F.C. with Defoe.
Cue Toronto’s second signing announced on Monday, American midfielder Michael Bradley. Toronto has never had a true holding mid-fielder, one to control the pace of play and to distribute the ball effectively to the strikers. The closest TFC ever had to that was Torsten Frings; unfortunately, injury hampered his play and he was sometimes forced to play centre-back because of the lack of quality on the back line. He retired early last year.
Michael Bradley as a member of A.S. Roma in Italy’s Serie A. (USA TODAY Sports(
Here’s the thing about Bradley. He’s only 26 years-old, and many consider him to be the best American player in the world. He has 81 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team, and has spent much of his career in Europe. After being drafted 36th overall in the 2004 MLS Superdraft by the Metrostars, he transferred to the Netherlands, and went on to spend time in Germany and Italy’s’ top divisions. So even at such a young age, he has so much experience playing in three of the top divisions in Europe. This is why I think Bradley is the key signing for Toronto F.C.. Not only is he that central piece in the mid-field, but he is now the corner-stone of TFC’s formation that figures to be so for a long time. He won’t score a lot of goals (that’s not what he’s there for), but his calibre of play in the middle for Toronto F.C. should be music to the ears of Reds fans.
Bradley will also be key in linking up with returning Canadian Dwayne De Rosario, who Toronto F.C. re-acquired through the MLS Waiver Re-entry Draft. De-Ro is making his return to BMO Field after leaving Toronto to play in Washington for D.C. United. At 35, he is still considered an effective player in the MLS, and still has the offensive flare that TFC has missed since his departure. Just imagine what may happen with Dwayne playing an attacking mid-field role with Bradley slotted right behind him. Couple that with newly acquired strikers Defoe and Gilberto, and Toronto F.C. may see a massive influx in goals.
Defoe and Bradley are the biggest signings made by Toronto F.C., ever. They carry impressive resumes and are extremely well-known in the international scene. Of course it will take time for both players to gel with their new teammates, but it will be worth the wait. Defoe might be that guy who finishes those plays and finds the back of the net, but the Reds have truly struck gold with Michael Bradley.
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