After a long drawn out saga, Toronto FC have finally gotten their man.
TFC announced earlier this month that the club have officially signed Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo as a Designated Player and he could be on the field for MLS Friday Night on TSN as Toronto faceoff against New York City FC (8 pm ET | TSN4,5 — Full TV & streaming info). The move is for a reported $11 million, which would make Pozuelo the third-most expensive transfer in MLS history.
It's time to get excited: Pozuelo will soon be starring for Toronto. What can MLS fans expect from TFC's new attacking midfielder?
"Pozuelo is a fantastic player, that’s for sure," Eye of the Game founder and Belgian soccer expert Christian Schaekels told MLSsoccer.com. "The same when Victor Vazquez arrived in Toronto, I directly said that this guy is going to be the best assist giver in the league. I’m sure It’ll be something like that also, he’s an amazing player.”
If using former TFC stars as a player mold for Pozuelo, expect more Vazquez than Sebastian Giovinco. Pozuelo will line up in the same position as his compatriot and will excel further in chance creation — he has 60 assists with Genk since 2015 — than goalscoring.
“Pozuelo is not such a big goalscorer like Giovinco, but I think he can be in the range of Vazquez," Schaekels said. "It’s more about giving the last pass.…He’s not the same kind of player (as Giovinco). I can understand the comparison in terms of the money, that’s for sure.”
That's not to say that Pozuelo won't score goals, of course. With Genk, Pozuelo has scored 25 goals in 175 appearances and Schaekels added, like Vazquez when he swapped Belgium for MLS, those scoring numbers may jump.
“He’s one of the players that you cannot say if he’s a right or lefty because he’s so easy with both," Schaekels said. "When Toronto need to play in the (attacking third), he can clean a situation very easily. He’s a fantastic technical player and he can score a lot of goals outside of the box.”
Pozuelo's range should not be understated. He has scored more goals from outside the box in Belgium since the start of 2015 than all but two players, per Eye of the Game.
Toronto FC supporters should be impatiently waiting until March 18 when Pozuelo is due to join his new teammates north of the border.
