{"id":25695,"date":"2026-04-30T04:43:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T04:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/25695\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T04:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T04:43:20","slug":"what-should-toronto-fc-do-with-their-3rd-designated-player-slot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/25695\/","title":{"rendered":"What should Toronto FC do with their 3rd designated player slot?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the most recognizable designated players in Major League Soccer will be at BMO Field in May, with Timo Werner\u2019s San Jose Earthquakes and Lionel Messi, Luis Su\u00e1rez and Rodrigo De Paul\u2019s Inter Miami coming to town to play Toronto FC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of them have been effective since coming to MLS, as have some of the big-name stars around the league \u2014 Vancouver\u2019s Thomas M\u00fcller, LAFC\u2019s Son Heung-min and Nashville duo Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar, to name a few. In Toronto, Josh Sargent has been good since arriving<\/a> from Norwich City and Djordje Mihailovic was effective until he went down with an injury<\/a> that will keep him out until the summer, but it begs the question about what, or who, the Reds might look to get with their open third slot.<\/p>\n

Jason Hernandez said recently that the World Cup being in North America this summer is a chance for MLS clubs, including his, to sell themselves<\/a> to players from around the world. Toronto FC has been burned before by signing a big name rather than an effective player, which is a cautionary tale for their next negotiations, but it certainly presents some interesting possibilities.<\/p>\n

Here are some options for what positions Hernandez could choose to pursue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy: Sean Pollock\/Waking The Red<\/p>\n

Right winger<\/p>\n

Toronto FC\u2019s left wing spot is D\u00e1niel Sall\u00f3i\u2019s to lose at the moment, as the former Sporting KC designated player has been arguably the club\u2019s most consistent and effective talent in 2026. Since Djordje Mihailovic has been injured, the right wing has seen a revolving cast of characters, none of whom have staked a claim to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If in this thought experiment Robin Fraser opts to move Mihailovic to a central, attacking free role at the number ten position (more on that in a minute), that could free up a spot on the wing for Toronto FC to add another DP attacker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Theo Corbeanu will be back from his knee injury eventually as well, potentially adding the kind of high-quality depth the club has lacked at times over the years. You can never have too many options in your squad, and finding the balance of getting them all into the team is a good dilemma to be in, and raises competition for minutes in the group.<\/p>\n

Central attacking midfielder<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, Jose Cifuentes has played a lot of minutes at the number 10 position that was just outlined as a potential option for Djordje Mihailovic. Cifuentes has been effective there at times, but there have also been moments where it seems like he would be more comfortable playing deeper in midfield instead of being the player tasked with creating or finishing scoring chances.<\/p>\n

Cifuentes\u2019 future at the club also isn\u2019t guaranteed beyond June, with his loan from Rangers set to end during the World Cup break. Hernandez and Fraser have not given direct answers about if they are looking to extend his stay in Toronto beyond that, saying they are considering all options. If he does end up leaving, they will definitely need to make a corresponding move, whether that comes in the form of a designated player or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toronto FC fans will remember fondly the difference that Victor Vazquez made when he arrived at the club in 2017, so adding someone like that to help unlock Sargent and the rest of the attacking group could, or perhaps should, be their number one priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy: Sean Pollock\/Waking The Red<\/p>\n

Other midfield options<\/p>\n

Since Michael Bradley left at the end of 2023, Toronto FC have also never quite replaced that destroyer role at the base of midfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having a player in midfield who can dominate defensively while still being effective on the ball going forward is a must in the best teams, and currently Toronto\u2019s midfield is more attack-minded. A player like MLS standouts Andr\u00e9s Cubas, Diego Chara or Sergio Busquets would be an effective addition to the team, and leaving Alonso Coello and\/or Cifuentes as one of those aforementioned high-quality depth options.<\/p>\n

If they want more of a box-to-box profile to play alongside Jonathan Osorio, Hernandez should be all over Canadian teammate Stephen Eust\u00e1quio if he doesn\u2019t extend his stay at Los Angeles FC beyond the expiry of his loan in June.<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy: Sean Pollock\/Waking The Red<\/p>\n

Centre-back<\/p>\n

Walker Zimmerman and Benjamin Kuscevic have shown that they have a high ceiling in their first games at Toronto FC, but a combination of injuries and inconsistency means they have not always been in the lineup or at their best. Designated player spots are typically used for attacking players or midfielders, but as Zimmerman knows from his time as a DP in Nashville, the best of the best can be worth big money as well. <\/p>\n

Carlos Salcedo didn\u2019t quite work out for family reasons when TFC tried it in 2022, while another former Red, Omar Gonzalez, was the first centre-back to sign a DP contract in 2013 when he was at the LA Galaxy. <\/p>\n

A mobile centre-back could be just what Toronto FC needs, and could even make Fraser commit to the back three he has tested at times this season for some extra defensive solidity.<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy: Sean Pollock\/Waking The Red<\/p>\n

Let us know in the comments where you would like to see the Reds upgrade the squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of the most recognizable designated players in Major League Soccer will be at BMO Field in May,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[17,12526,318,359,5312,48,330],"class_list":{"0":"post-25695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-canmnt","10":"tag-major-league-soccer","11":"tag-mls","12":"tag-tfc","13":"tag-toronto","14":"tag-toronto-fc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}