Toronto FC: Top 5 players who could be their next DP

Here are five players who would be perfect on Toronto FC as a DP

On a recent episode of The MLS Multiplex Podcast, Drew Hubbard, Josh Bouland, and I were fortunate to be joined by Rachel Doerrie, to discuss everything going on with Toronto FC. Go and check out the full episode, or first half if you only want to hear her portion, because Rachel divulged some interesting information around Toronto’s manager search.

On the podcast, she gave an idea as to who she could see/who she thought Toronto might pursue as the club’s next Designated Player. Her description was a younger player from Europe who isn’t necessarily getting opportunities. So, using her opinion on who Toronto FC’s next DP will be, I thought I’d take a look at some out there options that could be a possible fit to that description.

The players that I will be looking at are young European wingers/wide midfielders because from previous interviews, reports, and Rachel’s information, this will be the most likely makeup of Toronto’s next DP. I also tried to keep my list to 23 and under, and I didn’t limit myself to a specific league or region. I also attempted to keep these players to a reasonable market value basing all values off of Transfermarkt’s evaluations.

Toronto FC Option 1: Liam Miller

I will admit, we are starting with a very out there player in Liam Miller. Miller is a 21-year-old Canadian international currently owned by Liverpool where he plays for the club’s U23 team. In terms of positioning, Miller can play anywhere in the attack, which would greatly help Toronto’s versatility.

He spent last season on loan in the Scottish Premiership with Kilmarnock FC, where he played 1,207 minutes scoring one goal and adding an assist. I should note that Miller only played a full match once all season. For Liverpool, he plays mostly on the club’s U23 squad but has made a first-team appearance in a fourth-round FA Cup match against Shrewsbury where he played 82 minutes in a 1-0 win.

Why is Liam Miller on this list? Well, he’s young, has only really had one opportunity on Liverpool, and is a Canadian so he wouldn’t count as an international for Toronto. He is also from Toronto, so the lure of playing for his hometown club might be there.

There is also a very recent link between Liverpool and Toronto in Liam Gallacher, who joined the club on loan midway through this past season. The loan tells us that the two clubs have had a dialogue on talent in the past, so these conversations wouldn’t be out of thin air.

Is this move likely? Probably not, but there are a bunch of connections between Toronto and Liverpool and Miller. He is a young player in Europe who hasn’t been given an opportunity and is a versatile attacker.