Toronto FC Roster Decisions: Attackers

This is the last section of the series of posts I’ve done breaking down Toronto FC’s roster as the club heads into one of the most critical offseasons in recent memory. The goalkeepers, defenders, and midfielders section have already been released, along with an explanation of what is being done, so make sure to check that out if you haven’t already.

Now, let’s take a look at TFC’s attackers.

Jordan Perruzza: Perruzza showed he knows how to play to his limited talents this season. He’s a good depth/bench option to take over for older players who may be moved out as the team retools. Apart from that, you could consider loaning him because he’s only 20, turning 21 in the new year, so if you think he’ll get more minutes you can do that, but either decision is fine.

Final decision: Keep/Loan.

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

Jakheele Marshall-Rutty: He finally got minutes and looked good. Marshall-Rutty is a young phenom who is going to move on from TFC at some point, but we aren’t there yet. He needs a lot more minutes than he got this season if he’s going to reach that high potential. The issue is that I’m not sure he’ll get those minutes with the first team next year.

With the other young talent and rumoured players joining the team, there really isn’t a regular roster spot for him to play. That being the case, I think a loan to the CPL where he could start in a professional league would be really beneficial for him. He’s a very talented player and getting regular reps needs to happen if he’s going to keep getting better.

Final decision: Keep/Loan/TFCII.

Jayden Nelson: You see everything I just said about Marshall-Rutty? Well, that applies to Nelson as well. He’s not as talented as Marshall-Rutty, but Nelson has some serious promise. Getting regular reps is going to be very important for him to keep getting better, and the best way to do that is through a loan to the CPL, another league, or regular minutes with TFCII.

Final decision: Loan/TFCII.

Jacob Shaffelburg: Another young player who’s shown promise, Shaffelburg burst onto the scene late in the season being one of Toronto FC’s few bright spots. Soon to be 22, he’s a great option as a super-sub to use his pace to take advantage of tired opposing backlines, or as a regular starter making important runs to keep the opposition on their toes. If he can keep up the performances from this season he’s going to be an excellent asset for Toronto FC.

Final decision: Keep.

Ifunanyachi Achara: Achara continued his good performances this season, but the injuries are an issue. When he was drafted two years ago, it was known that he was prone to injuries, and that’s been a factor up to this point. However, Achara is 100% worth the risk as he makes dangerous runs and can challenge opposing backlines when he is healthy. He’s another great option as he and Shaffelburg could split time as both starters and coming off the bench.

Final decision: Keep.

Ayo Akinola: After suffering a torn ACL in a game for Canada, Akinola missed a large chunk of the season. He’s a talented player coming off of a serious injury and it’s going to take him time to get back up to full health. Before this season I was worried about him potentially attracting European interest, but, given the injury, I feel like that interest may not be as strong as it was last year.

There are rumours swirling that he wants to move either somewhere else in MLS or abroad, and he’s out of contract, so he holds most of the cards when it comes to abroad. Given his contract status, he is intelligible for MLS free agency, so TFC still hold his MLS rights, meaning there will need to be a trade if he’s going to move within MLS. This decision is probably not TFC’s when it hits January 1st, but I’d do everything I could to keep him around.

Final decision: Keep.

Dom Dwyer: An experiment that was pretty uneventful. Dwyer is a pretty capable attacker, but only as a deep backup. He’s an option that can threaten in the box, but apart from that really doesn’t have the talent anymore. If you can keep his salary really cheap you could justify keeping him around, but it would also make sense to part ways with him to allow younger talent to be on the main roster.

Final decision: Sell/Move on.

Patrick Mullins: Kind of similar to Dwyer, Mullins is a depth option for TFC. He showed he’s still got some stuff in him, but it doesn’t justify the salary. Making $248 329 last season, that’s a lot for a depth striker whose spot you could fill with a cheaper, higher upside, player. It was a fine trade when it was made, but the ship has sailed on TFC needing him and it’s probably beneficial for both sides to find a new team. Add on the fact that his contract ends at the end of the year, and it just makes sense too much sense to part ways.

Final decision: Sell/Move on.

Jozy Altidore: Altidore is a legend, through and through. I’ve argued in the past that TFC should move on from him because I, along with most other hardcore TFC and MLS followers, could see his decline coming. The often injured striker has lost a step and isn’t nearly as effective as he used to be, and it’s not likely that he regains that talent level. This decision was a pretty easy one considering what’s happening has already been reported.

A really unfortunate end to a special players time in the city, but not everything ends like a fairytale. If that report is inaccurate, however, I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping him around to see out his contract, but it may just be better for both sides to move on.

Final Decision: Sell/Move On.

Yeferson Soteldo: To call Soteldo a polarizing player on TFC Twitter would be putting it mildly. It feels like you either love him and think of him as an unbelievable talent or hate him and see him as a turnover machine who wasn’t even that successful and is an issue in the locker room.

I fall somewhere in-between those two points of view. Soteldo is obviously talented, he can dribble the ball like few in MLS can and has some fairly decent crossing abilities, but he’s also prone to doing too much, needlessly giving the ball away, and not always being that key difference-maker you think of when you think designated player. His goal contributions aren’t bad, even when you exclude the secondary assists (also known as hockey assists) from his total.

Overall, I think he’s a useful player to have, just not on this team. He hasn’t really fit in with TFC since joining and the off-field issues scare me. This decision may be completely out of TFC’s hands as there are rumours swirling that he’s looking for a move back to Brazil. It would make sense as his time here hasn’t gone to plan, but, at this point, it’s only rumoured, and there’s been nothing confirmed. No matter what happens, though, I don’t think Soteldo should stick around for very long. It was a worthwhile bet when it was made, but it ultimately hasn’t worked out.

Final decision: Sell.

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