Evaluating Toronto FC's summer transfer window not so easy
Patience will be required to see what TFC does the GAM acquired in the Marshall-Rutty trade before any judgements can be made.
As far as transfer windows go, this was a pretty quiet summer for Toronto FC.
A year ago, GM Jason Hernandez made no less than five roster moves:
- Goalkeeper Luka Gavran was promoted from TFC 2,
- Forwards Prince Owusu and Cassius Mailula were signed from abroad,
- Latif Blessing was acquired in a trade with the New England and,
- Franco Ibarra was secured on loan from Atlanta United.
By contrast, Hernandez was only able to bring in one new player during the 2024 MLS secondary transfer window with the signing of free agent defender Henry Wingo. But Toronto’s GM was also able to conclude a very important piece of business before the closure of Thursday’s MLS transfer deadline (for Canadian clubs) by trading Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to CF Montreal in exchange for up to $1.3 million in general allocation money (GAM) that it can use for future roster moves.
And therein lies the key in determining whether or not the Reds got the better of Montreal with this trade and if this was a successful summer transfer period. This deal was about the team’s long-term future, and not about solidifying its hopes of challenging for a 2024 playoff spot. Patience will be required to see exactly what TFC does with this whack of GAM before any judgements can be made.
