TFC Republic Weekly: February 22-March 1
Coming off a loss on the weekend in its season opener, Toronto FC seeks to rebound this week when it faces the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Toronto FC comes up short in season opener
Toronto FC looked uneven and suffered through defensive lapses in a disappointing 3-2 road loss to FC Dallas on Saturday in their MLS regular season opener at Toyota Stadium.
Djordje Mihailovic and Derrick Etienne Jr scored for Toronto who is now winless in its last seven season openers (three losses and four draws) – its previous victory came in 2019 when it earned a 3-1 road decision over the Philadelphia Union. The Reds sport an all-time record of five wins, 10 losses and five draws in MLS curtain raisers. TFC are also winless in 12 all-time road games vs. Dallas (with nine losses).
Toronto effectively fashioned itself into a side that was difficult to break down during the second half of last season under first-year coach Robin Fraser. But we saw scant evidence of that on Saturday with both of Dallas’ first-half goals coming off comedic defensive errors.
The Reds were dealing with a rash of injury absences and the transfer for Josh Sargent hasn’t yet been completed, so this wasn’t Fraser’s strongest line-up and the starting 11 is going to look a lot different in the near future. Still, there’s no getting around the fact that this was a poor start to the campaign by Toronto.
“I thought we started off tentatively ... I felt like we weren't as solid defensively as we needed to be early on. We're a bit too porous. But as the game wore on, we got better, and obviously, at the end, they're defending a lead, so we're going to have a lot of possession. But for me, the disappointing part is giving up three goals. We've defended extremely well. I don't think there were three great goals, but it's a result of taking pressure," Fraser told reporters after the match.
John Molinaro
TFC agrees to deal for Josh Sargent
Toronto FC have come to terms with Norwich City over a transfer for U.S. international forward Josh Sargent, a source confirmed to TFC Republic late last week. Sargent travelled to North America in order to undergo his medical and finalize personal terms with the Reds. The club is expected to make an announcement very soon.
Coach Robin Fraser declined to comment last Friday when asked about Josh Sargent being close to completing a transfer to TFC.
"This saga has been going on for a while now, and it's been at least a month that this whole thing has been out there. What I would say is that until it is absolutely done, I don't even really want to talk about it," Fraser said.
We won't go over the whole back story about Sargent putting in a transfer request, refusing to play in an FA Cup game and being frozen out by Norwich City, as that's already been covered by this website. Instead, we'll focus on what this move means for Toronto FC.
TFC was tied for the third worst attacking record in MLS last season with 37 goals. None of their forwards scored more than four times. Winger Theo Corbeanu was the club's top scorer with six goals. Toronto GM Jason Hernandez said at the conclusion of the campaign that securing a DP attacker would be a top priority ahead of the 2026 MLS season. Sargent fits that bill as he has 56 goals in 157 games for Norwich since joining the club in 2021.
The American's best season was in 2023-24 when he bagged 16 goals. In 2024-25, he scored 15 goals and was named to the English Championship's team of the season. He had seven goals in 22 games this season before being benched by the club – his last appearance for Norwich was on Jan. 4. Previously, Sargent scored 11 goals in 83 games across all competitions for Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga.
So, he has a proven track record as a consistent goal scorer at a high level, which is exactly what Toronto FC needs. The native of Missouri is an aggressive and physical attacker, which should make him a good fit for Robin Fraser's playing style.
TFC have been down this road before, splashing huge amounts of money on players from clubs from abroad who don't work out. Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi (to a lesser extent) were washouts in MLS, so much so that Toronto bought both of them out of their contracts last summer.
But the Sargent signing could be different. For starters, he'll be motivated to do well during his first stint in MLS, eager to earn a spot on the U.S. squad for this summer's FIFA World Cup. Sargent has five goals in 29 games for his country, with his last cap coming in September 2025. But his previous goal for the U.S. came in 2019 and he's not a lock for the World Cup roster as several other forwards have moved ahead of him in the team's depth chart.
Second, Sargent celebrated his 26th birthday on Friday, which means he has plenty of gas left in the tank and Toronto is getting a player who probably hasn't even hit his peak. You might recall that Sebastian Giovinco was 27, Michael Bradley was 26 and Jozy Altidore was 25 when they signed with TFC. All three players went on to become monumental figures for the club. Given Sargent's age and profile, he has the potential to have the same impact.
Make no mistake about it, Sargent will immediately become the focal point of Toronto FC alongside Djordje Mihailovic. MLSE has spent big money to bring both players to the club, and they want to see a return on their investment. That means, at the very least, a playoff appearance for the Reds in 2o26.
John Molinaro
Reds make big roster changes
Last week was a busy one for GM Jason Hernandez as he added three players to Toronto FC's roster.
On Tuesday, TFC acquired forward Emilio Aristizábal from Colombian club Atlético Nacional on loan for the duration of the 2026 MLS season. The 20-year-old Colombian youth international is a U22 Initiative player.
“He's a really exciting young player who has [an] interesting pedigree. His father was a very prominent player for Columbia, and for Emilio to cut his teeth at Atlético Nacional just speaks volumes about A), how good he is, and B), how mature he is, because that's a very, very difficult environment to go into as a young player," Robin Fraser said.
The club also claimed left fullback Raheem Edwards off waivers from the New York Red Bulls last Tuesday. This is Edwards' second stint with TFC – he was a member of the 2017 treble-winning side.
"Raheem is somebody who has been here. Toronto is his home and he’s super excited to come back, but he's gained a wealth of experience since I last worked with him. I've been around Raheem since 2017 and he's certainly grown and matured a great deal. I feel like we get far more complete virgin Raheem than we had back in 2017," Fraser offered.
On Thursday, TFC completed a trade for Hungarian winger Dániel Sallói. In return, the Reds sent Sporting Kansas City $300,000 in guaranteed general allocation money (GAM) – $150,000 in 2026 GAM and $150,000 in 2027 GAM – and an additional $700,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance-based metrics are met.
"Daniel is someone who has been a pretty prolific scorer for a winger in this league for many years. When I was in Colorado, we used to see him several times a year, and he was always a thorn in our sides. So, it's really exciting to have him with his wealth of experience, and what he has done, he's managed to be very successful and productive on both sides and even playing up the middle. So, it just offers us more flexibility," Fraser explained.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday
Toronto FC plays the second contest of a three-game road trip to open the season when it faces the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET/Apple TV).
Vancouver is coming off a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake on the weekend in its season opener courtesy of a goal from on-loan midfielder Aziel Jackson.
This is a busy week for the Whitecaps as they'll host Costa Rican side C.S. Cartaginés in the second leg of their first-round matchup in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The teams played to a 0-0 draw last week.
Vancouver leads the all-time MLS regular season series against Toronto with eight wins and four draws in 18 matches and is unbeaten in its six previous meetings (four wins) vs. its Canadian rival. TFC's last win in the series was in 2020. The Reds have a 2-5-1 road record in Vancouver.
Note: I will be at BC Place in Vancouver to cover Saturday's game, so be sure to visit TFC Republic all weekend in order to check out our special on-site coverage.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
We'll have ongoing coverage this week of Josh Sargent's transfer from Norwich City to Toronto FC.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- A TFC notebook column after Tuesday or Wednesday's training session (or possible after Thursday's session).
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps.
- An audio interview piece with Whitecaps radio play-by-play announcer Asa Rehman ahead of Saturday's road game vs. Vancouver.
- A feature on former Toronto FC player Ralph Priso (now with Vancouver).
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- The weekly Random Thoughts column.
- A TFC 2 season preview.
- The reader mailbag.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
(Top photo by Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games during the 2026 MLS regular season and the 2026 Canadian Championship.
To receive the special promo code, email me at jmo1897@gmail.com
(Please don't share promo code with non-TFC Republic subscribers).
TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.
