Rumour: Toronto Defender Damien Perquis Eyeing Return to Ligue 1

Just when things were starting to get all quiet on the January transfer front, the new agent of Toronto FC centreback Damien Perquis is making some noise. In a Facebook post welcoming his new client, Christophe Hutteau suggested that his client wouldn't be against a return to France.

Hutteau believes this would maximize Perquis' chances of making the Poland squad for Euro 2016. The 31-year-old Perquis has 14 caps all time for Polish national team, and was on their roster for Euro 2012 but has not played for the national team since 2013.

Perquis' agent also shared a link which suggested that the player was being offered to Ligue 1 sides Bordeaux and Toulouse. With Perquis still being under contract with Toronto FC, some sort of transfer agreement would have to be reached with these clubs and Toronto FC. Waking the Red is investigating this, and expects to have more information shortly.

Everything released by an agent should be taken with a grain of salt, as they carefully release information only that will benefit their client. It is incredibly possible that his agent is trying to drum up "interest" in his client to accomplish the aforementioned goal: getting back on the radar of the Polish national team.

However, the move would still make a lot of sense. Perquis has spent most of his career playing in France between his hometown Troyes, St-Etienne and Sochaux. He would move to Real Betis in 2012, but injuries would get in the way of playing consistently.

Injuries were also a problem this season with TFC, and a big reason why the centreback didn't have a better first year with the club. In the end he appeared in just 25 matches, and scored one goal. He was injured at the end of the year and therefore missed the club's first ever trip to the playoffs, and subsequent 3-0 loss to rival Montreal Impact.

Should Perquis depart before the end of the transfer window, it would create an interesting situation for Toronto's backline. When the club brought in MLS veteran Drew Moor in December as a free agent, it was largely believed that he and Perquis would make up the first choice centre back pairing.

With this came suggestions that Toronto FC would buy out Ahmed Kantari, another expensive acquisition from last season who did not have nearly the same effect on the field as Perquis. The club has yet to do that, however, possibly as an insurance policy in case Perquis leaves.

Should the defender leave, he would create a lot of salary cap room for the club. This past season, Perquis made $372,500 in guaranteed compensation, which could certainly be used towards acquiring an elite goaltender. However, it would also create a hole in the centre of defence that would not be easy to fill.

While Perquis wasn't always the most popular player with Toronto, at the end of the day him being moved without a replacement would be a big blow to the club's backline. A big problem last season was a lack of backline consistency, and without Perquis Toronto would have an almost completely new defence for this upcoming season.

UPDATE: Toronto FC have not been contacted by Perquis, or his handlers.

Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun has reached out to Toronto FC, and they denied that anything is imminent on the Perquis front. They said that they have not received any sort request for a transfer from either the player or other clubs.

Whether or not this is because the rumour is not true at all, which seems unlikely considering the sources, or because it isn't yet in an advanced stage remains to be seen.