When Toronto FC announced that they had signed Frings and Koevermans it was made clear that these two signings were just the beginning of the moves that we could expect from the club during the summer transfer window. Today all that promise of activity came to life as the trade activity kicked off. The first deal of the day saw TFC picking up Canadian midfielder Terry Dunfield from rival club Vancouver Whitecaps. This deal saw Toronto sending allocation money and future considerations in exchange for the player. The second move of the day was a big deal with the San Jose earthquakes that saw Toronto landing Jamaican international Ryan Johnson in exchange for Alan Gordon, Nana Attakora, and Jacob Peterson.
The first move to bring in Dunfield does two, or maybe even three, important things for Toronto FC. Dunfield gives Toronto more depth in the centre of the midfield as the Canadian international is capable of slotting in to a number of different roles in the centre of the pitch. Having cost Toronto very little this move seems to be a good piece of business. The issue will be that Dunfield has shown all kinds of heart for Vancouver but often that covered up a number of shortcomings in his play. He has often been at fault for turning the ball over and wasting chances. Toronto will be hoping that he can thrive in a new city that will see him no longer playing in front of his own family and friends so often. Dunfield will likely end up playing in the midfield in front of Frings or De Guzman which will give him freedom to help out the attack.
The second move of the day is by far the bigger one and the more important one. While landing Dunfield helps the midfield bringing in Ryan Johnson gives an even bigger boost to the teams attack. He will now be able to partner Koevermans in the attack in what shapes up to be a potentially lethal pairing. Johnson is now 26 years old and had made 99 appearances for San Jose since joining the club back in 2008 as well as having made 13 international appearances for Jamaica. Johnson was a part of the Jamaica side at this summers Gold Cup where he scored a pair of goals. He gives TFC another proven attacker and hopefully he will be able to spend more time fit and in the lineup then Gordon did. Speaking of Gordon he was one of the players that went the other way in this trade. Along with Alan Gordon TFC gave up Nana Attakora and Jacob Peterson which to some might seem like a bit of a steep price to pay. The fact of the matter is that Peterson has had more then his share of struggles this season and has been out of the lineup for a fair bit of time. Nana has found himself completely out of favour and no matter how many people were out injured he still seemed to be unable to get a place in the starting lineup. Gordon was Toronto's top scorer but he also had a lot of injury issues that saw him miss a number of games already this season. To me the core of this deal is Toronto trading Gordon for Johnson which I think is a good deal for the club since they still get a scoring threat but hopefully Johnson does not develop the same sort of fitness issues. The other key factor in this second deal is that Toronto was able to pick up an international roster spot which in my opinion would be a decent return for Peterson and a clearly unwanted Nana. I think in the end Toronto have done well in this deal as long as it is not the end of the moves they are making since they now need to strengthen the side and get deeper in other areas.
The move to trade Nana means that of the players on the teams first season roster no one remains. Nana had been the last player left around from season 1 but now it is like the club have completely made a fresh start. In some ways we can say that on thursday one chapter of TFC's history came to an end and now the era of Winter has truly begun. He has come good on his promise to shake up the roster and make changes and it was clear that he was not done yet.
On Friday the wheeling and dealing continued as TFC made another deal this time with Columbus Crew. This move I am a bit less of a fan of since it saw Toronto sending Tony Tchani the other way and in my opinion he has been one of the clubs best players in recent weeks. I guess in the eyes of the people in charge at TFC the move to bring in Dunfield meant that Tchani was extra to the needs in the centre of the park. Granted there was a clear need to get some help in defence which is exactly what they did by acquiring Andy Iro in return. Iro, who is 26 years old and from Liverpool, had been with the crew since 2008 where he played in over 50 matches having joined the team out of college being drafted 6th overall. Since making his debut against none other then TFC Iro has gone on to develop in to a strong and confident defender. At 6 foot 5 he will give the team a lot more strength and heading ability in the back line. He is just the kind of player that TFC were in need of to strengthen the back line and more important he will bring them skill and not just serve as another body. The second player that TFC got in return is Leandre Griffit who has only been in the MLS for a short time but at 27 years old he has had a lot of experience around the Europe including stops at Southampton, Crystal Palace, and IF Elfsborg. He will come in as a depth player for the most part helping to round out the clubs midfield and fill the spot left by Tchani. He only made a handful of appearances for Columbus so I do not really know what to expect from him and as such I am expecting him to just end up coming in as a role player who we will see from time to time.
So when Toronto FC take to the field in their next match against FC Dallas fans may just have a bit of a tough time recognizing any of the players. Tchani, Gordon, Peterson, and Attakora will all be gone and instead the club will have Frings, Koevermans, Johnson, Dunfield, Griffit, and Iro. That of course is assuming that they do not make any more deals before that game comes along.
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