Toronto FC trade Pozuelo to Inter Miami CF - Bernardeschi lined up as successor

This article first appeared on July 5 and has been updated with new information. 

Toronto FC have traded Designated Player (DP) Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami CF. TFC will receive $75,000 in 2022 General Allocation Money (GAM) and $75,000 in 2023 GAM for the 30-year-old. Pozuelo will remain under contract until the end of the 2022 season. The trade will open up a DP slot for Toronto, which the club is likely to use on free agent Federico Bernardeschi. 

 

“We’re thrilled to be able to welcome a player of Alejandro’s caliber," Inter Miami CF sporting director Chris Henderson said in a club statement. "He has proven himself to be one of the brightest talents in the league and we are confident that will continue here in South Florida. We were looking to add a decisive, creative attacking player and we feel he fits the profile.”

Toronto are now set to acquire Bernardeschi as a replacement. Bernardeschi is available on a free transfer after his contract at Juventus expired on July 1. The winger is now heavily linked to Toronto FC and could be presented as soon as July 7 when the MLS secondary transfer window opens (to the rumor mill). Bernardeschi would become the club's third Italian signing this summer. The club has already confirmed the transfers of Lorenzo Insigne (from Napoli) and Domenico Criscito (from Genoa). 

Although in Pozuelo ($8.8m), Toronto FC are set to lose their record signing and most valuable player currently on the squad, the additions of Insigne and Bernardeschi will more than make up for the loss. Insigne's current market value is €25 million, which will make him the most valuable player in MLS. Bernardeschi's current market value is $11 million, which would also rank him among the ten most valuable players in MLS (overview). 

Pozuelo to Inter Miami CF - Beckham-club receives much-needed playmaker

Pozuelo, in the meantime, will fill the role originally planned for Mario Götze at Inter Miami. The Beckham-owned club has been on the lookout for a classical playmaker, and in the 30-year-old will receive a player who has scored 29 goals and 26 assists since joining Toronto FC for $10 million in 2019 from Genk.