TFC Republic Weekly: November 11-17
For now, GM Jason Hernandez is in a holding pattern when it comes to addressing Toronto FC's roster ahead of next season.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC and offer a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Off-season rolls on for Toronto FC
One of the most important off-seasons in Toronto FC history rolls on with big decisions still ahead for GM Jason Hernandez.
While TFC have already decided on 11 players who were in options years of their contracts, the fate of German forward Prince Owusu (who earned $807,500 US this season) remains unclear.
It's interesting that Toronto is waiting until the league’s Nov. 27 deadline to decide what to do about the German striker who finished as the team’s top scorer in 2024 with 12 goals in all competitions. This seems to suggest that the club could be trying to move him via a trade or a transfer deal. TFC could also re-sign the German to a new contract that would see him earn less money than he did this season when he was the fifth-highest paid player on the team.
The club could also bring back midfielder Brandon Servania ($602,708 in 2024) after not picking up his contract option for 2025. Servania was in line for a pay increase had the Reds' exercised their contract option, but Hernandez didn't rule out bringing him back next year on a renegotiated deal.
But for now, Hernandez remains in a holding pattern, as he's unable to do anything until the Nov. 27 deadline. And then he has to wait until December to start using many of the league's important mechanisms (such as free agency, the MLS SuperDraft, etc.) in order to build out his roster for next season.
While the three-month period from December to February will be crucial, a lot of the ultra-important behind-the-scenes leg work is going on as we speak. This is the time that Hernandez, John Herdman and the supporting staff have to come to a consensus on the team's roster, determine what holes have to be filled and the positional upgrades they need, and identify possible targets in both the domestic and international markets.
John Molinaro
Important off-season dates to remember
With TFC coming off a disappointing campaign, this off-season is going to be one of the most important in the team's history. Club management will have to make a series of moves in order to improve the roster and set things right for the 2025 MLS campaign. With this in mind, here are some important off-season dates to circle on your calendar.
Nov. 27 is the deadline for all MLS clubs to decide which players will have their contract options exercised for the 2025 season. TFC already made decisions on 11 players, but they still have to decide what they want to do about forward Prince Owusu and defender Luke Singh, who spent this season on loan with Atlético Ottawa in the CPL.
Dec. 9 is when the MLS half-day trade window (9:00 am to 1:00 p.m. ET) opens up after a three-month freeze. MLS clubs can start tweaking their rosters by making trades with other teams across the league.
Expansion club San Diego FC will become the 30th team in MLS in 2025. But before that, San Diego will get to pick up to five players during the MLS Expansion Draft on Dec. 11. TFC have to determine which players to protect and which ones to leave unprotected.
MLS free agency begins on Dec. 12. Free agency eligible players are out-of-contract and option-declined players who are at least 24 years old and who have completed a minimum of five years of service in MLS. On the same day, the end-of-year waivers process begins. The waiver process pertains to players whose options were not exercised and who are not eligible for free agency or the re-entry process.
The MLS re-entry process kicks off on Dec. 12 with stage 1, while stage 2 is on Dec. 19. Essentially, this applies to MLS players who are out of contract (or had their option declined) but are not eligible for free agency.
The 2025 MLS SuperDraft on Dec. 20 will consist of three rounds.
John Molinaro
CanMNT vs. Suriname on Friday
After a four-month absence due to a broken leg, Tajon Buchanan is back in the fold for the Canadian men’s team at a crucial time. Last Friday, coach Jesse Marsch announced his 23-man roster for Canada’s Concacaf Nations League quarter-final series, and included in his squad was Buchanan, who plays for Inter Milan in Serie A.
Marsch’s Canadian team will train in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this week before travelling to Suriname for the first leg on Nov. 15. The return match is on Nov. 19 at Toronto’s BMO Field. The winner of the aggregate series advances to next year’s Concacaf Nations League finals.
Buchanan, a 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., has been sidelined for the national team since early July when he suffered a broken tibia in training ahead of Canada’s quarter-final match against Venezuela at the Copa América after featuring in all three of his team’s group stage matches.
Also recalled by Marsch for November’s matches are defenders Kamal Miller (Portland Timbers) and Alistair Johnston (Celtic FC), and midfielders Ismaël Koné (Olympique Marseille) and Junior Hoilett (Hibernian FC), who were not part of the Canadian team that faced Panama last month in an international friendly.
Both Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio (81 caps) and fullback Richie Laryea (58) remain a part of March’s squad for this month.
Two notable absences are centre back Derek Cornelius (Olympique Marseille) and winger Liam Millar (Hull City). Cornelius suffered a minor rib injury while playing in a French league match last weekend, while Millar is out for the rest of the season with Hull City due to knee injury he picked up in a match on Oct. 23. Marsch confirmed that Cornelius' injury isn't serious and he should only be out a few weeks.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 years of age or younger, Defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, a 19-year-old playing for England's Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, is the team's youngest member.
Canada is No. 35 in the current FIFA world rankings. Suriname is No. 136.
The other quarter-finals are No. 39 Panama versus No. 50 Costa Rica, the 18th-ranked United States versus No. 61 Jamaica, and No. 16 Mexico versus No. 77 Honduras.
The Nations League Finals will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20, and the final and third-place playoff game set for March 23. The four semifinalists will also automatically qualify for next summer's 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Earlier this year, MLS announced the modification of its rules to give clubs more flexibility in how they build their rosters. Under the new rules, teams have to choose one of two paths. The first path allows teams to sign as many as three DPs and as many as three U22 Initiative players. The second path allows teams to have up to two DPs and up to four U22 signings, plus an additional $2 million US in general allocation money (GAM) starting next season. MLS teams have to declare which path they are going to take – (3 DPs/3 U22s) vs. (2 DPs/4 U22s + 2M in GAM) – before the start of the 2025 regular season. We'll have a feature story in the next few days that examines which path Toronto FC could take.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- My feature story on Toronto FC defender Adam Pearlman.
- My “Random Thoughts on TFC” column.
- A new TFC Talks audio interview segment with beat reporter James Grossi.
- Part 2 of our "Toronto FC in 2024: Who was worth their salary cap hit" series.
- Part 2 of our "Toronto FC in 2024: The year that was in roster moves" series.
- Part 4 of our "TFC year in review" series looks back at the month of May.
- A new instalment in our TFC flashback history series.
- Another edition of the reader mailbag.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's Concacaf Nations League quarter-final first leg vs. Suriname.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic features a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
(Top photo courtesy of Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)
TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.
