Report: Toronto FC linked with RCD Espanyol winger Pablo Piatti

TORONTO, Ont.—Reports out of Spain Tuesday afternoon have linked left-winger Pablo Piatti to Toronto FC.

The translation of the tweets are rough, but it appears that Piatti—who stands a 5’3”—is not with his current team RCD Espanyol in La Liga, but rather on his way to do a medical and sign with Toronto FC, according to Cope.es’s Quique Iglesias, with a deal potentially completed by Thursday.

The Canadian Press’ Neil Davidson has since confirmed that Piatti is indeed “one of several players under consideration for TFC’s third DP spot.”

Piatti, 30, would check all of the boxes that the Reds were looking for in their new designated player: he’s a left-winger who can play as a forward if necessary, he plays in one of Europe’s top-4 leagues, and his contract is set to expire at the end of the season.

In 2019, Piatti missed most of the year with a cruciate ligament rupture before returning in September. Since then, he has been limited to cup competitions and a few brief appearances for Espanyol off the bench.

While he has struggled to find playing time in 2019/20 due to injury (appearing in just seven matches), Piatti has performed well in Spain over the course of his career. In 294 La Liga games, Piatti has scored 48 times and added 42 assists while lining up alongside—and against—some of the world’s best talent (hello Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo).

Piatti is also already all too familiar with winning at BMO Field. He was part of the Argentina side that won the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Toronto.

In 2017, Piatti reportedly signed a three-year permanent contract with RCD Espanyol with the Spanish club paying 1.5 million Euros to his previous club Valencia for his services. If TFC wants to bring him in prior to the start of the season, they’ll likely be tasked with paying a similar fee, however, several reports believe that Espanyol are willing to let the attacker go on a free transfer in hopes of cutting their wage bill.