Damien Perquis Leaning Towards Move to Toronto, Will Make Decision Soon

Toronto FC is getting closer to making their third major announcement of the January transfer window. Today it was confirmed by Real Betis that Toronto target Damien Perquis is no longer under contract with the club, and therefore will be open for a free transfer. Mateo Gonzalez of ABC Sevilla tells Waking The Red that TFC is one of several clubs who have approached the Polish international, including those in Spain and other parts of Europe. Gonzalez is the Real Betis beat journalist who initially discovered the link between Perquis and Toronto.

Today it was also suggested by a source close to Perquis that Toronto FC may be his "better option". Should Perquis join Toronto it would likely be near league maximum salary. While many considered yesterday's Kyle Bekker transfer for allocation money to go towards the effort to keep Gilberto, it could actually be to make room for Perquis. The source also believes that Perquis will make his decision soon. There are only 10 days left in the January transfer window.

Perquis could be the final piece to Toronto FC's offseason plan, as the team certainly needs another experienced central defender. They needed one even before Doneil Henry left the club for West Ham earlier in the month. The french-born player would bring plenty of experience to Toronto, as he had spent time in France with Troyes, Saint-Etienne and Sochaux before joining Betis in 2012. For Poland he played 12 games, scoring one goal in a friendly against Slovakia.

When the official Real Betis twitter account tweeted that Damien Perquis was departing the club the response was varied. Like most moves the majority wished him well in his future, while some seemed happy to see him gone. There has been suggestions that most disliked the player in Spain, but that would appear unfounded.

Waking The Red will have more on the subject as the story develops.