Toronto FC roster decisions: Overview and goalkeepers

Following one of the most abysmal seasons in Toronto FC’s history, the club faces many future altering decisions. Each and every player will need to be evaluated to understand which direction the club can and should go in.

So, let’s do Toronto FC’s job for them. Following the announcement of roster decisions since the end of the regular season, I’ll evaluate the entire roster, while taking into consideration the moves that have already been announced. Over the next few days, each player on the roster will be evaluated and I’ll put them into one of three categories: keep, sell/move on, and loan.

All of these decisions are also being made without knowledge of contract lengths, as MLS doesn’t disclose that information, however, if it is publicly available it will be taken into consideration. Finally, all salary figures will be in American dollars, for simplicity’s sake. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the Toronto FC goalkeepers.

Goalkeepers

Toronto FC have some hard decisions to make before the 2022 MLS kickoff

Alex Bono: Bono is an interesting player to evaluate. On the one hand, his flaws are very apparent, but on the other, he’s been an at the very least adequate shot-stopper. Starting with his flaws, he doesn’t have the greatest positioning in the world and, to put it kindly, sucks with the ball at his feet.

Ultimately I think it comes down to two things with Bono and whether or not he should stick around. The first one is his salary. Bono earned a guaranteed compensation of $482,000. That’s quite a lot for a goalkeeper, as he had the eleventh highest guaranteed compensation for goalkeepers in MLS, earning more than notable names Matt Turner, Maxime Crepeau, and Pedro Gallese.

Given his salary and his age (he’ll be 28 next season) I’d attempt to sell him. He is someone who I think has value, and who would likely allow you to get some sort of decent return. You have to remember, this was a guy who, not even four years ago, was being seriously considered for the US Men’s National Team and had interest from Europe. I’m sure you could move him off somewhere that he’d be a regular starter.

Final decision: Sell

Kevin Silva: Look, I said I’d include everyone, okay! Silva is a third goalkeeper who’s still relatively young and inexpensive, so you might as well keep him around. If you can find another young cheap alternative, you could move on from him pretty easily, but it’s probably just easier to keep a guy in your system who’s been with the club since going on loan in 2019, before securing a permanent deal in January of 2020. Even though his contract option was not picked up, I’d see if you could bring him back.

Final decision: Keep

Quentin Westberg: This one I’m going to struggle with, I’ll be honest. Quentin Westberg is a talented goalkeeper. He’s a veteran who’s had experience both in Europe, and he’s played well for TFC in the past. A guy who can play the ball with his feet (we’ll ignore the play that shall not be named from the end of this season), he’s a really useful player to have as an outlet for your backline.

Having said that, he clearly struggled this year. The battle began right at the start of the season when he missed time due to a bout with Covid-19 and continued right up until the last match. He clearly had a hard time splitting time with Bono throughout the season, and the fact is he isn’t getting any younger. At 35, turning 36 next season, you have to wonder how much he has left in the tank.

He made  $275,000 last season, which is too much, in my opinion, to be a backup, but at the same time, he’s a veteran presence who would really help this team as they try to pick themselves back up.

Toronto FC has decided to pick up the option in his contract, so they appear to be following my mindset of keeping him around as well. Despite the age and salary, he’s a guy who can give you solid minutes between the sticks and who you know you can rely on as a vocal presence, so even if he’s making a bit too much and is getting older, I’d keep him around.

Final decision: Keep

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Defenders to follow…