Toronto FC are interested in acquiring Spanish attacking midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo from Belgian club Genk, sources told MLSsoccer.com on Friday. If acquired, Pozuelo would replace Sebastian Giovinco, who left the club to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal last month, as the club’s third Designated Player.
A Belgian outlet reported on Friday that “a team from Canada” had made an offer for Pozuelo. The sources indicated that Toronto would likely have to pay a transfer fee of around $10 million to acquire the 27-year-old Spaniard, who has six goals and 13 assists in 30 Belgian Jupiler League and UEFA Europa League matches this season. They added that TFC would like to get the deal done as quickly as possible so that Pozuelo could join the squad ahead of the start of their Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 series against Panamanian club Independiente on Feb. 19.
Pozuelo joined Genk in the summer of 2015 and currently serves as their captain. He has 17 goals and 29 assists in 102 career league appearances for the club. Prior to moving to Belgium, Pozuelo spent one season with La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and one in the English Premier League with Swansea City. He began his career with Spanish club Real Betis, debuting with the first-team in October 2011 and spending two years with the La Liga side before moving to the EPL with Swans.
In addition to Pozuelo, the sources said that Toronto remain interested in several other options for their third Designated Player spot. The names of their other targets aren’t known.
