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It’s been a big day for Toronto FC transfer rumours. If reports from Argentina are to be believed, TFC have made an offer to Primera Division club Argentinos Juniors for midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.
Toronto de la MLS ofreció u$s 4.5 millones libres de impuestos por Alexis Mac Allister. La oferta es para que se vaya en junio. #Argentinos la evalúa. pic.twitter.com/TZIgwg9SZB
— César Luis Merlo (@CLMerlo) January 25, 2018
The Reds have reportedly made an offer of $4.5 million for Mac Allister, but if the deal goes through he apparently wouldn’t come to Toronto until the June window.
Mac Allister is 19 years old, and he’s spent his entire footballing career with Argentinos. He’s made 34 appearances for the club since his debut in 2016, scoring three goals. He has four assists in eleven appearances this season (first on his team), helping his team to their current 11th-place spot (out of 28).
He has two brothers with him at the club, Francis and Kevin (yes, like Home Alone).
It looks like Mac Allister is a central midfielder with a strong passing ability. According to WhoScored, he’s appeared this season in both attacking and defensive roles. He seems to be one of the most dangerous passers for Argentinos, third on the team with 1.3 key passes per game. He also leads the club with 1.4 dribbles per match.
Mac Allister doesn’t look like the wide attacking player TFC have been after, but he could definitely bolster the centre of midfield, perhaps taking some of the minutes away from Marky Delgado or Jonathan Osorio.
That’s a pretty expensive price tag, coming out to about half of what TFC paid for Michael Bradley. By my count, that would make him the third-most expensive transfer fee in Toronto FC history (behind Bradley and Jermain Defoe). I’d assume at that fee that he’d come at a TAM-level salary at the very least.