MLS: 3 biggest losers from transfer deadline day

Another primary transfer window has come and gone. After an exciting week of last-minute blockbuster moves, here are three clubs that failed to address their most pressing needs.

Each season, the primary and summer transfer window deadlines always present themselves as two of the most exciting times in Major League Soccer. Each team is given a final opportunity to make critical roster moves that could provide an immediate impact for a squad in a given season or a chance for a club to build a foundation for lasting success in the years to come.

While a number of clubs, including Seattle, Columbus, and Colorado, were able to make a number of impactful acquisitions last week, many clubs failed to finalize any deals before the May 7th deadline.

Here are three teams that most needed to make roster moves, but failed to do so at the primary transfer window deadline.

3. Toronto FC

While Toronto FC has played well when Jozy Altidore is healthy, the team still has major questions to be answered along the backline and on the attacking front when Altidore is unavailable. The club, who have given up 15 goals in just nine games this season, have acknowledged their defensive issues and were in talks to sign USMNT veteran Omar Gonzalez to stop the bleeding. The towering center-back was an integral part of the Los Angeles Galaxy’s three most recent championship runs and could have provided the Reds with a strong defensive presence, as well as an aerial threat in the box on set pieces. But when Club Atlas of Liga MX were unwilling to part ways with Gonzalez, TFC walked away empty handed.

Toronto has also actively been in the market for a right-sided winger who can stretch the field and balance the club’s attack. The Reds have lacked depth on the wings, and with nearly half of the club’s total goals coming from Altidore and Alejandro Pozuelo, obtaining another offensive threat is paramount if the club wants to return to the playoffs. With a deal for a TAM level winger not getting done at the transfer window deadline, TFC could be in trouble if Altidore remains out of the lineup, or if Pozuelo goes down with an injury.

However, Toronto still has time to make a splash in the summer transfer window. They still hold the top spot in the allocation order and have an ownership group that is willing to spend money on international transfer fees. But if TFC are unable to sign a center-back or winger in the next window, and if NYCFC, Atlanta, and Chicago continue to surge up the Eastern Conference table, Toronto may find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff picture for the second year in a row.