Toronto FC close to signing Dutch defender Gregory van der Wiel

Gregory-van-der-Wiel

Gregory van der Wiel in action for former club Paris Saint Germain. (Thibault Camus/AP)

Toronto FC appears to have found a replacement for Steven Beitashour.

The reigning MLS Cup champions are close to signing Gregory van der Wiel, a 29-year-old right fullback with 46 caps for Netherlands’ national team, Sportsnet can confirm.

No deal has been finalized, but the two sides are in the final stages of working out a deal, a source said. Currently under contract to Italian club Cagliari, van der Wiel is expected to fly to Toronto to undergo a medical exam, and if all goes well TFC could formally announce his signing in the next few days, the same source said.

TFC would likely have to pay a transfer fee for van der Wiel, unless he is able to negotiate his release from Cagliari.

Van der Wiel had been linked to Toronto FC in media reports in recent weeks, including one published on Major League Soccer’s official website. When asked about the reports on a conference call with local journalists this week, TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko declined to confirm or deny that he had been in talks with the Dutch defender.

The Reds move to sign van der Wiel comes after Beitashour, the club’s starting right fullback for the past two years, turned down a new contract offer in the off-season as it would have required taking a pay cut. He chose to explore free agency and ended up signing with Los Angeles FC, the expansion club that is set to make its MLS debut this season.

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A product of Ajax’s youth academy, van der Wiel went on to play for the famous Dutch side from 2007 to 2012. A four-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 followed. From there, van der Wiel went to Fenarbahce, but things didn’t quite work out for him in Turkey and he left after only one season.

Most recently, van der Wiel played for Cagliari in Serie A last summer. But he only made a handful of appearances and fell out of favour with the Italian club.

He debuted for the Dutch national team in 2009, and was the Netherlands’ starting right back in the 2010 World Cup final against Spain. He was also a major part of the Dutch side that competed at Euro 2012.

A player of van der Wiel’s calibre and reputation means TFC would likely have to spend Targeted Allocation Money on him. TAM is a special pot of money that all MLS clubs can use to buy top domestic and international talent — who are not at the designated player level — with a minimal salary cap hit. The Reds used TAM last year to sign Spanish playmaker Victor Vazquez.

TFC is currently in Los Angeles where it is holding the first portion of its pre-season training camp.

A Toronto FC official declined to comment when contacted by Sportsnet.

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