Doneil Henry Joins Apollon Limassol
There were a lot of eyebrows raised in October when it was revealed that Doneil Henry was sold earlier in the year to a club in Cyprus and then loaned back to Toronto FC. The reason fans and media alike had so many questions about the transfer was because nobody knew about it until the end of the season, and even then, the club refused to announce which club in Cyprus bought the 21 year old defender. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that the Brampton, Ontario native will begin his professional career in Europe, suggesting he probably won’t be back with the club on loan again in 2015.
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Doneil Henry was the first graduate from the Toronto FC academy to sign a professional contract with the club and a true product of the club’s developmental system. While the Canadian international has always loved playing for his hometown club, he has also never been shy about his ambitions to play in Europe. Earlier in the season, Henry spent time on trial with West Ham and although it didn’t lead to a Premier League contract, it did help him make the jump to Europe.
“I didn’t feel out of place,” he said after returning to Toronto. “TFC’s my home. I’ve never been anywhere else, in another professional environment. I thought that when I went there (to West Ham) I really showed well for myself. It really opened my eyes.”
At the end of the season press conference, Henry expressed that he genuinely didn’t know yet whether he would return to Toronto FC in 2015 or begin life with his new club.
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“As of right now, a lot of discussions still need to take place between myself and Toronto, and just weighing down my options to see where my future will go. I’ll sit down with my agent and my family and see what is the best decision for me, and eventually I’ll pick what i think is the best for my career,”
Henry has his whole career ahead of him and even at only 21 years of age, he has shown an incredible amount of maturity during his time with Toronto FC. Along with rookie teammate Nick Hagglund, Henry stepped up to fill the void left by captain Steven Caldwell in the middle of the season when he went out injured for over a month. He led the club with 8 yellow cards in his 19 starts, logging a total of 1802 minutes during the course of the 2014 Major League Soccer season.
Henry has been just as important for his country as he has been for Toronto FC and as a result was recently named as a nominee for the Men’s Canadian Soccer Player of the Year. Given the nature of MLS it is still possible that Henry returns next season on loan again, but for the moment the promising youngster is doing his best to show he can make it in Europe.