Although not a team usually associated with the movement, Toronto FC are all in on #PlayYourKids for the 2021 season.
The club’s president, Bill Manning, detailed the shift in philosophy in an interview on Waking the Red Weekly podcast when asked about a quiet offseason on the transfer market.
“One of the reasons we’ve opted not to bring in a lot of new players is because we actually have a lot of faith in our young players and we think some of them are going to have breakouts,” Manning said. “So rather than going out like we’ve done in the past and getting an MLS experienced player … we’re going to be looking to Jayden \[Nelson], and Ralph \[Priso], and Noble \[Okello] and Julian \[Dunn] and those guys because now is the time. You know, we have a young guy in Jordan Perruzza who is very under the radar, who is another one we’re really high on.”
Manning also heaped praise on highly-touted homegrown midfielder Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, albeit cautiously.
“I’m not going to applaud Jahkeele too much because he’s still 16 years old, but that kid’s ceiling is higher than any player I’ve worked with,” Manning said. “At RSL, we built Brooks Lennon, Fito Ovalle, Sebastian Soto, Corey Baird, they all came from our academy in Arizona, so I’ve seen young talent. This kid is as talented a young player as I’ve seen.”
That said, Toronto FC have never been shy about splashing cash on big-money players, but Manning said the club will be smart when it comes to the search for a third Designated Player.
“We want to make sure when we’re going to spend millions of dollars — and in some cases 10's of millions of dollars — you know, that’s a heavy decision,” Manning said. “We want to make sure it’s right."
