Toronto FC: Is Alex Bono on the move?
By Daniel Garza
Toronto FC goalkeeper Alex Bono is headed to England to train with Barnsley. Has his time in Toronto come to an end and what could his future options look like?
Toronto FC goalkeeper Alex Bono made very few appearances in the 2019 Major League Soccer season.
After putting together a strong campaign in 2017 to help the Canadian club win MLS Cup, the American goalkeeper has since fallen out of the starting role in Toronto. This past season saw the introduction of Quentin Westberg into the lineup and the veteran shot-stopper took over the starting role.
Now, it appears Bono is on the move to a new club.
This week, it was reported by Paul Tenorio of The Athletic that Bono is training with English Championship club Barnsley. It comes right at the start of the January transfer window as European clubs look to bolster their rosters heading into the final stage of the season and MLS clubs continue to make additions for the upcoming campaign.
Bono will train with Barnsley to start off his 2020. Barnsley are right in the middle of their long season which includes 46 league fixtures and would like to add a second goalkeeper of relative experience in a global league.
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It appears that Barnsley are not the only team interested. The report also alludes to other MLS clubs possibly looking to sign the 25-year-old goalkeeper. At this point, one can only speculate on which clubs they may be, but Bono would be an intriguing acquisition for any other team in MLS given his success with Toronto FC prior to 2019.
Whether Bono ends up in England or not, he certainly will want to be on the move at some point this year. Westberg will be back this season as the outright number one option. This leaves Bono on the bench and without playing time. For a player who showed enormous potential in 2017, he certainly should be looking to join a club where he can have the starting role between the posts and look to re-establish his career.
At 25, there are still many years tor un, and with only seven appearances last season, the opportunity to be the outright starter in Toronto may be gone for the near future.
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It will be interesting to see if Bono can remerge as a starting goalkeeper in 2020, but if he can build on his talent and forge a regular for himself, he could be an intriguing acquisition, inside or outside of Major League Soccer.