Making a case for and against Lorenzo Insigne at Toronto FC
Should TFC return to benching Insigne while looking to offload him? Or should they make the best of things and continue to play him?
Lorenzo Insigne’s situation at Toronto FC has been one of the more fascinating storylines to follow in MLS this season.
The Italian DP had a disappointing 2024 campaign in which he suffered through injury problems and put up some very poor numbers – just four goals and seven assists in 23 MLS games (17 starts). In 2023, he had four goals and five assists in 20 games during his first full year for TFC, so it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations or his mega-rich contract that paid him $15.4 million US last year.
MLSE President & CEO Keith Pelley didn’t rule out TFC cutting ties with Insigne at the end of last season, so it was hardly a surprise that Toronto tried to offload the Italian during the winter. When no transfer or trade materialized, new coach Robin Fraser benched the former Napoli captain.
But after not even dressing for the first four games of the 2025 campaign, Insigne has started in each of the Reds’ last two contests and collected an assist in a 2-1 road loss to the New York Red Bulls on March 22.
