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Report: Toronto FC sign Ligue 1 Defender Ahmed Kantari

The club's centre back situation looks to be solved as reports out of France say that Toronto have signed a former RC Lens and Moroccan international defender.

By Mitchell Tierney
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

Defensive help may finally be on the way for Toronto FC as Major League Soccer's summer transfer window nears its end. Reports out of France indicate that the club has signed Ligue 1 defender Ahmed Kantari, who they had been linked with earlier in the week.

Kantari's former club, RC Lens, tweeted and posted a short article detailing the fact that the central defender is on his way to a "new adventure" with Toronto FC, tagging the MLS club in their tweet.

Terms of the agreement have yet to be released, and Toronto have not yet acknowledged this statement as factual.

At 30 years of age and with plenty of experience under his belt the central defender is a perfect fit for Toronto, and should help shore up some of the backline problems they have been having this season.

Alongside Damien Perquis and Benoit Cheyrou, Toronto now have three former Ligue 1 players in the middle of the park. This will hopefully translate into chemistry as the veteran backline look to improve on the 1.5 goals Toronto have conceded per game so far this season.

Kantari has played his entire career in France after coming out of Paris St. Germain's youth academy. He played for Stratsbourg and Brest before joining Lens. He is also a Moroccan international and has been capped several times for his country.

Last season with Lens he appeared in 31 matches and scored one goal for a Lens side that finished at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table and were relegated to Ligue 2.

While a tweet from Lens may seem like a pretty definite statement of Kantari's pending arrival, similar proclamations out of France have proven to be false in the past.

Earlier in the month Ligue 1 side FC Sion's president appeared to say Swiss defender Beg Ferati had signed with Toronto.

Waking the Red has confirmed that those talks weren't nearly as advanced as previously indicated, and that Ferati is not currently looking for a new club.

The transfer window closes on August 8. Toronto are likely to add other pieces before then, as they are currently still looking for a fullback to add depth to that position.

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