TFC Republic Weekly: January 26-February 1
Toronto FC continues to hold talks with Norwich City about Josh Sargent, but a transfer deal isn't close to being completed.
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...
Nothing new on Josh Sargent front for Toronto FC
It's no secret that Toronto FC is in desperate need of a DP striker to bolster an attack that produced just 34 goals last season, tied with Austin FC for the third worst in MLS.
To that end, TFC recently tabled an $18 million US bid for Norwich City and U.S. international striker Josh Sargent, who has been training with the Canaries' youth team ever since he didn't make himself available for an FA Cup match vs. Walsall on Jan. 11.
Sargent is eager to leave Norwich, but the team has insisted he isn't going anywhere during this European transfer window (which closes on Feb. 2) unless their evaluation of the player is met. It's important to remember that Norwich could still sell Sargent to TFC after Feb. 2 – the MLS primary transfer window runs from Jan. 26 to March 26.
Toronto FC continues to hold talks with Norwich about Sargent, but a source told TFC Republic that a transfer deal isn't close to being completed.
German club Wolfsburg was reportedly set to pay a $28 million US transfer fee to Norwich last summer. But Sargent turned down the offer after agreeing to personal terms with Wolfsburg. If that $28 million figure is what Norwich is still after for Sargent, then TFC are going to have to pony up $10 million more to get him.
John Molinaro
TFC travels to Spain with 32 players
Toronto FC travelled last week for Spain where it is holding the second phase of its training camp before returning home on Feb. 15.
TFC's 32-man pre-season roster consists of 24 players who are under contract for the 2026 season, plus a pair of TFC 2 players (Jahmarie Nolan and Antone Bossenberry), two youth academy players (Richard Chukwu and Tim Fortier), and two MLS SuperDraft picks (Fletcher Bank and Jackson Gilman).
The travel roster also includes goalkeeper Zakaria Nakhly, who is on trial, and out-of-contract forward Hugo Mbongue.
With three goalkeepers under contract to the first team, one has to believe that the club is eyeing Nakhly as a possible candidate to join TFC 2 for the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season. Nakhly has spent time in Atlético Ottawa’s youth system.
TFC's pre-season roster:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Adisa De Rosario, Luka Gavran, Zakaria Nakhly +, William Yarbrough
DEFENDERS (13): Richard Chukwu ^, Kobe Franklin, Jackson Gilman +, Nicksoen Gomis, Stefan Kapor, Richie Laryea, Zane Monlouis, Adam Pearlman, Matheus Pereira, Lazar Stefanovic, Kosi Thompson, Henry Wingo, Walker Zimmerman
MIDFIELDERS (9): Fletcher Bank +, Antone Bossenberry ^, José Cifuentes, Marcus Cimermancic, Alonso Coello, Tim Fortier ^, Malik Henry, Djordje Mihailovic, Jonathan Osorio
FORWARDS (6): Theo Corbeanu, Derrick Etienne Jr., Deandre Kerr, Hugo Mbongue #, Jahmarie Nolan ^, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint
^ Toronto FC II/TFC Academy + Unsigned SuperDraft selection or trialist # Unsigned camp invitee
2 games in Spain this week for the Reds
Toronto FC's full pre-season schedule hasn't yet been released. But we do know that TFC will have two games in Spain this week.
The Reds will face Incheon United FC of K League 1, South Korea's top division, on Jan. 28. Incheon topped the table in the 2025 K League 2 season to win promotion to the first division.
TFC plays Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Jan 31. Jeonbuk are the reigning K League 1 champions.
There's no word yet if these games will be live streamed.
More pre-season matches will be announced at a later date.
Toronto FC opens its 2026 regular season away to FC Dallas on Feb. 21.
John Molinaro
Wingo, Gomis, Corbeanu recovering from injuries
There's good news on the injury front for Toronto FC as English defender Zane Monlouis was back in full training last week at the start of pre-season camp.
Monlouis, 22, sustained an abductor and rectus injury last June in a home game vs. the New York Red Bulls. The injury was so serious that he was placed on the season-ending injury list in July and he didn’t play for the rest of the year. Toronto also put defenders Henry Wingo (quadriceps) and Nicksoen Gomis (Achilles tendon) on the season-ending injury list at the same time as Monlouis.
TFC was being cautious with Wingo and Gomis during this pre-season and was waiting until they arrived in Spain before getting them involved in training sessions so that they could train on grass. The team was working out on an artificial surface under a bubble at the BMO Training Ground in North York due to the inclement weather since training camp started earlier this month.
"[Gomis] is coming off a long injury, and it will take some time; [it's not] anything that we want to risk on the turf. So, he is improving and coming along day by day, and we expect to see him on the field pretty quickly in Spain. Henry is in a similar boat. [He has] a little niggle here, a little niggle there. And again, we don't want to take chances with him on the turf. And I think both of them will be into action pretty quickly when we get to Spain once we’re on grass," coach Robin Fraser said last week.
Canadian winger Theo Corbeanu was in the same boat as Wingo and Gomis.
"Theo had a small thing pop up in the off-season. So, he's another one that we are ramping up slower and not taking a chance on the turf. I can't remember the timeline as to exactly when he'll get in Spain, but he'll also be back in within the first week in Spain," Fraser said.
Reds rank 12th in MLS in 2026 GAM
Toronto FC is sitting on a healthy amount of general allocation money ahead of the start of the 2026 MLS season next month. According to a report published by MLS last week, TFC currently has available $5,316,009 US in 2026 GAM, which ranks 12th amongst all 30 teams in the league.
Minnesota United has the biggest war chest of 2026 GAM at $7,259,300, while Austin FC has the smallest amount at $2,549,636. CF Montreal has $6,008,069 and the Vancouver Whitecaps have $5,523,381.
GAM is essentially extra room on top of a team's normal salary cap (which was $5,950,000 in 2025). If a team maxes out its salary cap, it can still spend on new players if it has accumulated any GAM. So, you can think of GAM as a tool to extend a club's salary cap position. Clubs can use GAM, among other ways, to buy down a player’s salary cap hit, which in turn allows them to go after new players.
Each team was given its annual allotment of GAM for this season, which was $3.28 million. The fact that Toronto has an extra $2,036,009 in 2026 GAM is indicative of a deliberate strategy by GM Jason Hernandez dating back to last year that has been squarely focused on asset accumulation rather than short-term spending.
Important pre-season dates to remember
MLS announced last week that its primary transfer window opens on Jan. 26 and runs until March 26.
What that means is that starting today MLS clubs can sign players from abroad on transfer deals, make player trades with other teams from across the league, and send players on loan and sign players on loan (both from teams within MLS and from abroad).
The MLS roster compliance date is Feb. 20 – all clubs must be roster and budget-compliant by that day.
Teams also have to decide by the roster compliance date which player roster model they plan to adopt at the start of the season. The first one allows teams to sign as many as three designated players and as many as three U22 initiative players. The second one allows teams to have up to two DPs and up to four U22 signings, plus they receive an additional $2 million US in GAM.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
With Sean Johnson now out of the way, Luka Gavran is poised to become Toronto FC's starting goalkeeper this season. It's a big step for Gavran, a 25-year-old from Hamilton, Ont., who served as Johnson's understudy for more than two years. Is he ready to take over the No. 1 job for the Reds? Look for my feature story later this week.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- A feature story on Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio.
- A notebook news column on the team's Spanish training camp.
- A feature story on Designated Player Djordje Mihailovic.
- The weekly "TFC Random Thoughts" column.
- The reader mailbag.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- The latest instalment in our ongoing "TFC Flashback" series
- 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 Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
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