Once cut loose, Mark-Anthony Kaye happy to be back at TFC

“This has always been a club that’s been in my heart,” says Toronto FC's newest midfielder.

Once cut loose, Mark-Anthony Kaye happy to be back at TFC

For the longest time, Mark-Anthony Kaye was considered the one that got away from Toronto FC.

A key member of the Canadian men’s team, Kaye cut his teeth playing soccer at York University before joining TFC’s youth academy in 2013.

The Toronto native quickly worked his way up the ladder within the TFC organization, turning out for the youth team in League1 Ontario in 2014 before being sent on loan with USL side Wilmington Hammerheads. In 2015, the midfielder signed with TFC 2 and made 21 USL Pro appearances for the club. The way things were trending, it looked as though he’d soon graduate to the senior MLS team.

But that never happened, and Kaye was cut loose by Toronto after the 2015 campaign. Since then, he's established himself as one of the best two-way midfielders in MLS, mostly on the strength of his three and a half seasons at LAFC where he played under current TFC coach Bob Bradley.