TORONTO — One day after Toronto FC confirmed the sale of Spanish star Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami CF, Toronto coach Bob Bradley conceded that the future of Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo with the club is up in the air.
Salcedo, like Pozuelo a designated player with TFC, has been shuttling between Toronto and Mexico where his wife gave birth last month. Bradley, who doubles as sporting director, has only said the Mexican is dealing with a family matter.
Salcedo was not at training Friday amid speculation he wants to return to Mexico.
“It’s possible that that’s going to be the best solution for him and his family,” said Bradley. “It’s not 100 per cent but it’s possible that’s certainly something that might work for him at this time. We’ll see.”
“I’ve been very open about the fact that the family situation has made things difficult for him,” he added. “And it’s hard to be in two spots at the same time. He’s been back and forth a lot. That’s difficult. And I think he wants to make sure that things are taken care of the way they need to be.”
TFC did make a deal Friday, acquiring Canadian midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye from the Colorado Rapids.
Toronto paid a hefty price for Kaye, sending Canadian midfielder Ralph Priso, up to US$1.05 million in general allocation money, a 2023 international roster spot and a first-round MLS SuperDraft pick to the Rapids, who are coached by former Toronto assistant Robin Fraser.
Bradley coached Kaye at Los Angeles FC, the midfielder’s first MLS stop.
Toronto (5-10-3) hosts the San Jose Earthquakes (4-7-6) on Saturday.
Bradley said Salcedo was in Toronto but was noncommittal about his availability on the weekend.
The Mexican, who joined Toronto at the end of January, is the league’s highest-paid defender at US$2.35 million according to figures released in April by the MLS Players’ Association.
As for Pozuelo, who is out of contract after this season, Bradley revealed that there had been no contract talks with the Spanish playmaker.
Toronto shipped the former league MVP to Miami for $150,000 in general allocation money, with the possibility of more if certain performance metrics are met.
Asked about the modest return, Bradley pointed to Pozuelo’s expiring contract.
“Any time there’s a player who’s getting to the end of his contract, that plays into his value” he said. “That happens everywhere around the world.”
Asked why there had been no contract talks to retain the 30-year-old Pozuelo, Bradley said: “We’re still trying to build a team and figure out the best way to move forward.”
The trade does open a designated player spot for Toronto, with Italian international Federico Bernardeschi seen as a target. The 28-year-old winger is out of contract after five seasons with Juventus.
Bradley said there has been a “misconception” that he had tried to change the attack-minded Pozuelo’s role by asking for more defensive work. He said after the first two games of the season “we felt that the way to get the best out of Ali was to really give him freedom.”
The arrival of Italian star Lorenzo Insigne seems to have been a major factor in the popular Pozuelo’s exit.
“Could they have played together? Maybe,” Bradley said. “Certainly in my mind you’re always brainstorming for ways to make that happen … and so part of the thinking about how to challenge him in some new ways was with the possibility of that would also fit better when Lorenzo got here.
“These are the details of how teams grow and how teams are built. It’s not just a collection of guys. It’s ideas and how players fit together.”
With the league’s secondary transfer window opening Thursday, Insigne is finally eligible to play.
But the former Napoli captain’s MLS debut will have to wait, due to a calf injury picked up in Europe. Fellow Italian newcomer Domenico Criscito, the former Genoa captain, is available to slot into the TFC defence.
Saturday’s contest is a matchup of the league’s two worst defences, with Toronto 27th (conceding 1.89 goals a game on average) and San Jose 28th (2.06 goals per game).
TFC is still looking for its first shutout in league play this season. It last blanked the opposition Sept. 25, 2021, in a 0-0 draw at Colorado. The run of MLS games without a clean sheet is now at 26 games.
Toronto tied 11 other teams for the league record of fewest shutouts in season with just two in 2021.
Coming off consecutive home defeats to Columbus and Seattle, Toronto has just two wins in its last 11 league outings (2-8-1).
Toronto’s 2-0 loss to Seattle last Saturday was its eighth loss in its last 11 outings (2-8-1) and the 10th of the season.
The franchise has only had more losses at this stage of a season once in its history, losing 11 of its first 18 games in 2012.
The Quakes are coming off a 2-1 win in Chicago, ending a five-game winless streak (0-3-2) in all competitions, in a match that saw San Jose hit the woodwork three times.
San Jose staggered out of the gate this season, parting ways with coach Matias Almeyda after going winless in its first seven games (0-4-3).
It has gone 4-3-3 with Alex Covelo, who was head coach of the Earthquakes II in MLS Next Pro, as interim manager.
Like Toronto and Colorado, San Jose has yet to win on the road this season (0-6-2).
On the plus side, the Quakes have not lost to Toronto in their last three meetings and posted a 2-1 win the last time they came to BMO Field in May 2019. San Jose is unbeaten in its last three meetings with Toronto (1-0-2).
Jeremy Ebobisse leads the San Jose attack with nine goals, tied for second in the league.
NOTES: Pierre Barrieu has left his post as TFC’s director of high performance to join Jesse Marsch’s staff at England’s Leeds United as a fitness coach … Toronto FC II will take part in the inaugural MLS Next Pro Invitational July 19-27 in Sandy and Herriman, Utah. The Toronto reserve side will face England’s Chelsea under-21 side July 23. The competition will also feature Real Salt Lake’s reserve Real Monarchs, Colorado Rapids 2 and England’s Wolves under-23 team.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2022.
