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According to several reports today, Toronto FC II coach Laurent Guyot could be leaving the TFC system to take charge of Belgian side Cercle Brugge (N.B.: that’s not the same team Alex Bono was linked with; that was Club Brugge).
Het Nieuwsblad, a paper in Belgium, reported that the newly-promoted Cercle Brugge are close to agreeing a deal with Guyot after their previous manager, Franky Vercauteren, departed.
Per Belgian site Het Nieuwsblad, newly promoted Belgian first division side Cercle Brugge are set to hire Toronto FC II coach Laurent Guyot as their new coach. #TFCLive https://t.co/IUdfniknN8
— Joshua Kloke (@joshuakloke) May 31, 2018
Being told that Laurent Guyot has resigned at @TorontoFCII — perusing an opportunity in Belgium
— Duane Rollins (@24thminute) May 31, 2018
Guyot has only been in charge of TFC II since the beginning of this season, after he took over from Jason Bent. He has also been TFC’s academy director since 2015. He has also previously managed Sedan and Boulogne in France, as well as the youth academy at Nantes.
The Frenchman spent the majority of his playing career at Nantes as a defender, winning a Ligue 1 championship in 1995.
Cercle Brugge, a club owned by AS Monaco of France’s Ligue 1, won the playoff final of Belgium’s second division to win promotion to the Jupiler Pro League, and will now take part in the top flight.
This would be a major loss for TFC’s youth system, and it comes as quite a surprise. It’s unclear who could take over from Guyot — Benoit Cheyrou? Or Jason Bent, back down to coach TFC II after being called up to MLS?