Toronto FC roll out red carpet for Josh Sargent: “He's a special player” | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

TORONTO – The message was big and unmistakably bold, splashed in large font across digital signs around Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

“THE REDS GET THEIR SARGENT,” it read, alongside an image of Toronto FC’s new Designated Player Josh Sargent, who’s finally in TFC colors after a dramatic, months-long transfer saga that concluded with a record-breaking reported $22 million-plus move from English side Norwich City last week.

While all parties recognize that the proof must be produced on the pitch and not in press conferences, it felt like TFC were back on the rise again as they officially introduced their new cornerstone to a crowd of journalists and hardcore supporters at the downtown arena, home to the Reds’ Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment siblings the Maple Leafs (NHL) and Raptors (NBA).

“Our aspiration, our goal, our promise to our supporters, to our fans, to everybody that's involved in TFC, is that we want to contend for championships on an annual basis – which brings me to Josh Sargent,” declared Keith Pelley, president and CEO of MLSE, the club’s parent company.

“Josh Sargent, you're going to love. He's a special guy. He's a special player [with] special skills. But what he really is is a man who is going to fit the culture. He's going to make us better overnight. He's going to be a star in this city, star with TFC, and although the process was a lengthy one, I'm going to tell you, my friends, it was worth it.”

Perseverance pays off

Hungry to climb out of the lower reaches of the English second tier’s basement and return to contending for a place in the vaunted Premier League, the Canaries were reluctant to part with their prized striker – and that’s putting it mildly.

Norwich initially refused to greenlight a sale, despite multiple clubs in MLS, the Premier League, and German Bundesliga reportedly coming close to sealing a deal for Sargent over the past year or two. They even demoted him to train with academy players after the player made clear his desire to join Toronto, fueled in large part by a desire to return to North America so his growing family could live closer to loved ones.

But TFC persisted, and eventually attained their prime target. Sargent has participated in team training sessions this week and appears to be available for selection for the club's upcoming Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire visit to FC Cincinnati (7 pm ET | Apple TV), even though he hasn’t seen match action since Jan. 4.

“I would say about every other day, I wasn’t sure if this was going to happen or not!” said Sargent with a shy smile.

“A lot of twists and turns, and it was definitely a long process with a lot of emotion behind it, but I think just the biggest sense of relief that I’m finally here and finally got to see everybody in person. It’s been a great first few days here.

“I can just focus on playing soccer again. It's been a while.”

General manager Jason Hernandez, too, made no secret of his elation at reaching the finish line at long last.

“When I first saw Josh, I don't know that I've hugged someone other than my wife like that in a long time,” he wisecracked.

"There's been so much time and energy committed to getting this done, and the fact that it is done is certainly… a relief for us and a bit of a final page in the chapter that we closed, and now opening the new chapter."

Do-everything skillset

Toronto have a proud history of splashy signings. They went big to recruit the likes of Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley during the 2010s, and reaped multiple MLS Cup final trips and a historic 2017 treble campaign as a result, building a side still widely rated among the best in MLS history.

The club branded the first batch of those banner acquisitions as ‘a Bloody Big Deal,’ and their leadership does not hesitate to rank Sargent’s arrival at a similarly lofty level.

“Josh can do everything,” head coach Robin Fraser said of his well-rounded No. 9 skill set. “You have some that can hold the ball up. You have some that can combine. You have some that are just purely goalscorers. You have some that defend really well. When you get one that incorporates all of those things, it almost seems too good to be true.

“Not only what he can do on the field, but as I got to know him and his character, I feel like he exemplifies exactly what we are trying to be and what we're trying to produce. So when you put all of that together for us, it became a no-brainer.”

New chapter

More recent swings for Italian internationals Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi didn’t unfold quite so swimmingly, prompting a reset last summer and a pivot towards a more analytics-centered model, with MLSE adapting for TFC what Pelley called “a proprietary data tool” first honed for the Raptors’ use in the NBA.

Bradley’s leadership and high standards pushed a sea change in the Reds’ locker room. Altidore scored and assisted in bunches as the focal point of the attack. Giovinco was a livewire creative force who destabilized opposing defenses like few in this league ever have.

Sargent, mused Hernandez, might just be able to bring a bit of all that to the table at BMO Field.

“In my wildest dreams,” he said, “my hope is that in all of those ways, he can have an effect on us in his time here at TFC.”