TFC Republic Weekly: November 4-10
One of the most important off-seasons in Toronto FC history rolls on with big decisions still ahead for GM Jason Hernandez.
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...
Prince Owusu's future at TFC remains up in the air
Will he stay or will he go? That’s the main question surrounding Prince Owusu following last Monday’s end-of-season roster decisions announcement from Toronto FC.
Thirteen TFC players entered the option years of their contracts following the conclusion of the 2024 MLS regular season. The Reds decided to pick up the options of all but four players on that long list: Shane O’Neill, Aimé Mabika, Greg Ranjitsingh and Brandon Servania.
Owusu’s future remains in limbo as Toronto didn’t make any public declaration about the German striker’s long-term status. Instead, the MLS club will make full use of the MLS deadline of Nov. 27 before revealing whether or not it plans to pick up Owusu’s contract option for 2025.
On the surface, it would appear the Reds are being indecisive and dilly-dallying over the burly forward's status. But delaying the decision makes sense in a lot of ways.
Owusu, 27, led Toronto in scoring in 2024, his first full campaign with the team, by bagging 12 goals in 39 games in all competitions, including nine in MLS, while tallying five assists. Defensively, Owusu also proved to be valuable for TFC this year. He ranked in the top 15 per cent among all strikers in the league in tackles per 90 minutes (95th percentile), interceptions (94th), blocks (88th) and clearances (86th), according to fbref.com.
At the same time, Owusu did not live up to his hefty TAM-level contract that saw him earn $807,500 US, which made him the fifth-highest paid player on TFC’s squad. It’s true that he scored more goals than anybody else on the team in 2024. But those goals came in bunches. To call him a streaky striker would be an understatement.
Still, TFC have a moderately valuable asset in Owusu, and it’d be foolish to simply cut bait without first exploring the possibility of seeing if they can get something for him. Delaying the decision about his contract option until next month’s league deadline gives GM Jason Hernandez ample time to work the phones to see if there’s any interest in the German and possibly put together a trade.
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. 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. 13 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.
Cavalry FC vs. Forge FC in CPL Finals on Saturday
Given a second chance after losing to Cavalry FC at home in last week’s playoff game, the CPL regular season champions rebounded with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Atlético Ottawa in Saturday’s semifinals at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field.
Malik Owolabi-Belewu’s second-half goal before an announced crowd of 6,315 was the difference for Forge, who now travels to Calgary to take on Cavalry at ATCO Field in the CPL Finals on Nov. 9.
Next Saturday’s rematch will be the third time that Forge and Cavalry will meet in the CPL’s championship match. Forge won in 2019 and 2023.
Forge has qualified for all six CPL Finals since the league’s inaugural season in 2019, winning the crown on four occasions. Coach Bobby Smyrniotis’s side has a chance to further assert its status as the CPL’s dynasty team by winning a third consecutive league championship next weekend in Alberta. The winner of the CPL Final will lift the North Star Cup as 2024 CPL Champions.
“I always say the most important thing is to be there, to be in that game,” Smyrniotis told reporters after the win over Ottawa. “Nothing in life is linear. It’s not always one way to do it, to go over the mountain, through the tunnel, around the door in different ways.
“Obviously our place in the table, what we did in the season gave us that opportunity. And here we go again for the sixth time.”
RELATED READING: News | Features | Match reports | Newsletter | Opinion | Q&As | Roster moves | TFC 2 | Audio | Videos
Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
As part of TFC Republic's in-depth review of Toronto FC's 2024 MLS season, we'll be launching a special four-part series that looks at every single player on the roster and determine whether or not they were worth their salary cap hit. We'll also have another a four-part series on every single roster move made by the club this year and examine how it worked out for the Reds. Part 1 of both series will be published in the next few days.
- Read "Toronto FC in 2023: Who was worth their salary cap hit?" by CLICKING HERE.
- Read "Toronto FC in 2023: The year that was in roster moves" by CLICKING HERE.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- My feature story on Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio.
- My “Random Thoughts on TFC” column.
- Part 3 of our "TFC year in review" series looks back at the month of April.
- A new instalment in our TFC flashback history series.
- A TFC Talks audio interview segment with beat reporter James Grossi
- Another edition of the reader mailbag.
- My Q&A with Cavalry midfielder Jay Herdman, son of TFC coach John Herdman.
- A feature on the Canadian men's team as it prepares for its Concacaf Nations League quarter-final vs. Suriname.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature 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.
