TORONTO — Kevin Payne has been fond of making bold statements and promises ever since taking over as Toronto FC president and general manager last November.
Payne’s latest brash proclamation came Friday afternoon when he said he hopes to sign two new attacking players by next week, including the club’s third designated player.
The MLS transfer window closes on Aug. 8, although teams can still add players who are out of contract, either from clubs within or outside the league, until the MLS roster freeze deadline of Sept. 13.
“We are working pretty much 24 hours a day on some fairly sizeable signings,” Payne told a small group of reporters. “We’re coming up towards the end of the transfer period. These things are all complicated, but I do hope we’ll have some news before the transfer period ends.”
He later added: “We are going to sign some DP-level talent in the next week or so.”
Could one of the new players that Payne has his eye on be Maximiliano Urruti, a 22-year-old forward from Argentina that Toronto tried to sign earlier this season?
“We continue to try to find a way to sign Maximiliano Urruti, and we hope that will occur. We are also looking at another signing, for sure, that would join us before this window ends,” Payne stated.
Sunday programming alert: Watch the New England Revolution vs. Toronto FC live on Sportsnet 360 (formerly known as The Score). Coverage begins at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. | TV schedule
Teams in MLS are allowed to acquire three designated players or DPs: marquee players whose salaries, which would often exceed the team’s salary cap, count for significantly less against the cap.
Toronto currently has two DPs on its roster in Dutch forward Danny Koevermans and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba. Payne confirmed that Urruti, if signed, would not count as a DP, and that TFC currently has two international roster spots available.
Earlier this year, TFC management had been working for several weeks to lure Urruti from Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys, with coach Ryan Nelsen even publicly stating a few times that a deal was “virtually done.”
But things hit a snag after former Newell’s Old Boys manager Gerardo Martino, recently named FC Barcelona’s new coach, put his foot down and made it known to the club’s owners that he did not want to release Urruti.
TFC slowly lost patience, and the deal was quashed. But Urruti has seemingly become available again after he walked out on Newell’s Old Boys earlier this week.
“He has now severed ties with Newell’s. There’s a possibility he could end being a player in MLS and in Toronto,” Payne confirmed.
“We’ve chased him a long time. We watched him many, many times. (TFC chief scout) Pat Onstad has seen him live on a number of occasions. Our opinion of him has never wavered. We think he’ll be an outstanding player in our league. We’re pursing that diligently.”
It’s hardly a surprise that Toronto is looking for some attacking reinforcements.
The Reds have scored 19 goals in 21 games, tied for the second-worst offensive record in MLS. A 2-1 win over Columbus last weekend not only ended a six-game winless skid, but it also halted the club’s goal drought at 423 consecutive minutes.
Payne believes Urruti is the answer to the team’s scoring woes.
“We really think that Urutti’s a player that will be one of the absolute top forwards in (MLS),” Payne said. “We think he will bang in goals.”
No talks with Koevermans yet
Payne also said that he hasn’t yet held talks with Koevermans, who is out of contract at the end of the season, about re-signing him to a new deal.
The Dutch forward recently returned from a lengthy layoff – he suffered a season-ending knee injury last July – only to suffer a calf tear that has kept him sidelined for the past few weeks.
“We’d like to get him back on the field first before we have (contract talks). Right now we’re focused on getting him healthy. … I know it’s killing him to not be able to help the team. I think some point in the fall we’ll probably have a conversation with him,” Payne admitted.
Payne also confirmed that TFC has had preliminary conversations with Australian A-League team Wellington Phoenix about midfielder Jeremy Brockie, currently on loan with the Reds, about signing him to a full-time deal.
Payne said that if any long-term deal with Brockie, who still have two years left on his contract with Wellington, likely wouldn’t happen until next year.
NOTES: TFC forward Robert Earnshaw, the club’s top scorer with six goals this season, is questionable for Sunday’s road game against the New England Revolution due to a lingering hamstring injury. Coach Nelsen said he’ll wait until Saturday to decide whether or not Earnshaw will travel for the game.