Toronto FC did it again in 2014 — they missed the MLS Cup Playoffs — despite splashing out big money on Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley and Gilberto less than 12 months ago.
Fast forward year and TFC are still without a playoffs appearance in the club’s eight-year history and Defoe reportedly wants a transfer back to England, which as reported by Canadian Soccer News on Thursday, could trigger the Reds’ latest offseason shopping spree with Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard and Galatasaray playmaker Wesley Sneijder being targets at the top of the club’s wish list.
Sneijder, 30, has been linked with a move to MLS for years and years now — the LA Galaxy had been Sneijder’s most-rumored MLS destination for the last 18-24 months, but a lack of available Designated Player roster slots always seemed to put an end to that speculation. The Dutch World Cup veteran signed a three-and-a-half-year contract when he moved to the Turkish giants in January 2013.
Gerrard’s contract, however, will end at the end of the 2014-15 Premier League season and at 34 years of age, Liverpool might finally be resigned to letting the career-long Red and 12-year captain walk on a free transfer. TFC could pay a transfer fee to sign Liverpool during MLS’s winter offseason, or bring him aboard once his contract expires in the middle of their 2015 campaign.
What do you think of this TFC transfer rumors regarding Gerrard and Sneijder? Are these the type of players the playoff hopefuls need to be targeting?