TORONTO – The Jermain Defoe era at Toronto FC is officially over, and a new era has begun.
TFC on Friday announced it has reached a transfer agreement with English Premier League club Sunderland and has signed United States forward Jozy Altidore as a designated player. The Reds also agreed to send Defoe to Sunderland.
Terms of both transactions were not disclosed, and GM Tim Bezbatchenko declined to comment when pressed for financial details at a Friday morning news conference introducing Altidore to the local media. However, a source within the MLSE organization told Sportsnet that this was a straight one-for-one trade, and that there was no money involved.
Sources also told Sportsnet that Altidore’s contract is for five years and that TFC midfielder Michael Bradley, a teammate of Altidore’s on the U.S. national team, restructured his current deal to ensure Toronto was able to sign the former Sunderland striker. Bezbatchenko admitted Bradley played an “important role” in helping the Reds land Altidore.
Bezbatchenko also went on to thank Defoe, claiming that without the Englishman deciding to come to Major League Soccer in the first place that “we wouldn’t be here today.”
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Sitting beside Altidore at the head table during the press event at Air Canada Centre, Toronto coach Greg Vanney heralded the signing of the American forward as a “no-brainer.” Vanney also rather boldly predicted Altidore, a physically imposing striker at six-feet-one and 175 pounds, would be “one of the top strikers in all of MLS.”
“He’s a great player and an all-around striker, in the mould of a Didier Drogba,” Vanney claimed. “He can physically control defenders, get in behind (defences), who you can play into and he can hold up the ball. … He’s 100 percent committed. He’s hungry. He can score goals. We’ve seen him do it at the national team level.”
Altidore left no doubts as to what a successful 2015 season for him and TFC would look like.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs. There’s no other way to be successful,” Altidore stated.
Bezbatchenko claimed the signing of Altidore was TFC’s way of making a serious statement about the club’s future after failing to make the playoffs for eight straight years, calling the former Sunderland player “one of the top young Americans in the game today.”
“We’re committed to do whatever it takes to make TFC the class of MLS,” Bezbatchenko stated.
Speaking about Defoe’s departure from Toronto after only one season, Bezbatchenko said: “We’re not an organization that’s afraid to think outside of the box. We take risks. Sometimes they work out, and sometimes they don’t. That’s football at the highest level.
“In the end, we’re excited where we are today and we’re looking forward to the next chapter.”
Bezbatchenko also promised that TFC is looking to make some more major announcements in the next few weeks “as we look to take this club to another level.”
In Altidore, 25, Toronto FC is getting a forward who scored 51 goals in 93 games during his time in the Dutch league with AZ Alkmaar, but only scored once in 42 Premier League appearances since joining Sunderland in 2013. Altidore also spent time on loan with Hull City in England and Turkish club Bursaspor.
“You’re going to go through times where everything’s not so great. In those times, how you react to those moments will define you. It was very difficult (at Sunderland) for a number of reasons on and off the field,” Altidore admitted.
“Now I’m joining a franchise where I have the opportunity to keep growing as a player and to get better.”
Vanney said Altidore’s lack of production at Sunderland didn’t deter TFC from going after the American forward.
“Goal scoring a lot of times is about confidence, it’s about consistency. I also think for him it’s about being somewhere he really wants to be. Being on loan in places all over, you’re never really a part of it. Nobody really takes a keen interest in you and your progression as a player because you’re only there for a short period of time,” Vanney explained.
“Here, he’s invested, and we’re invested in him for a number of years … We’ve seen him score goals in numbers, so I have no doubt that in this league he’s going to be fantastic. He will score goals—I have no concerns about that.”
Altidore is a regular starter for the U.S. national team (25 goals in 76 games), and has previous MLS experience. He was drafted by the New York MetroStars (now Red Bulls) in 2006 and spent two years in New York (scoring 16 goals) before being sold to Spanish outfit Villarreal.
U.S. national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann has publically stated before that he prefers his players to ply their trade at the top level in Europe rather than in MLS.
“It’s no secret about his thoughts on (MLS vs Europe),” Altidore said. “I spoke to him at length (about singing with Toronto). It was a very open and honest conversation. He understands that that I’m always looking to push myself and to get better. I think he supported this move.”
Sunderland on Friday confirmed that it has signed Defoe, 32, on a three-and-a-half year deal.
Defoe inked a four-year contract with TFC after a $10 million transfer from Tottenham a year ago as part of the MLS club’s major off-season makeover that also included the signings of fellow designated players Michael Bradley and Gilberto.
The expectation was that Defoe would become one of the biggest stars in MLS and transform Toronto into a playoff contender. It didn’t work out that way.
Defoe led Toronto in scoring with 11 goals in 19 appearances in 2014. But he ended up missing 15 matches due to injuries and suspension, as the Reds finished seventh in the Eastern Conference, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The former Tottenham striker was also hounded by questions about his commitment to Toronto during his tenure in MLS.
So why didn’t it work out for Defoe in Toronto?
“I think it goes back to he’d always played in England, and I think the entire (MLS) project is something that a player has to be willing to take on. I think he was initially, but maybe he wasn’t so much in from the middle to the end of the year,” Bezbatchenko offered.
