TORONTO — The revolving door at Toronto FC keeps turning with Spanish forward Jesus Jimenez coming in and Sebastian Giovinco and Brazil's Auro Jr. leaving.
On Monday, the MLS club announced the signing of Jimenez from Poland's Gornik Zabrze on a contract that runs through 2024 with an option for 2025.
Giovinco, a former star forward who had been training with the team in California, and Auro, a starter at fullback, were not on the team's 28-man roster for the second half of training camp in Texas. Giovinco, TFC's all-time leading scorer and a former league MVP, is headed to Italy's Sampdoria while Auro is joining Brazil's Santos FC on loan, according to reports.
The club, which held the first portion of camp in California before heading back to Toronto, left for Austin on Monday with Jimenez aboard the charter to continue its preparations ahead of the Feb. 26 season opener at FC Dallas.
Defender Kemar Lawrence, who had been on international duty with Jamaica, was also missing from the roster Monday. The club offered no reason why.
Jimenez spent the last four seasons with Gornik, scoring 43 goals in 134 appearances in all competitions including Europa League play.
“Jesus is a skilful attacker who has a combination of excellent movement and dribbling,” Bob Bradley, Toronto's head coach and sporting director, said in a statement. “He scores goals and creates chances for teammates. We are looking forward to having him join our team in training camp as we prepare for the season.”
Toronto needs help up front with Venezuelan international Yeferson Soteldo having departed for Mexico's Tigres UANL and fellow designated player Jozy Altidore expected to be bought out.
TFC has attacking talent on its roster but it is young in the form of Ayo Akinola, Ifunanyachi Achara, Jordan Perruzza, Deandre Kerr, Jayden Nelson, Jahkeele Mashall-Rutty, Jacob Shaffelburg and 2022 draft pick Reshaun Walkes.
Italian star Lorenzo Insigne has signed but won't be in Toronto until July when his contract with Napoli expires.
Toronto turned heads in late January with news that Giovinco was back training with the team, albeit without a contract.
Club president Bill Manning said the 35-year-old wanted to end his career with Toronto and that money would not be an issue, although he cautioned that the club and Giovinco had to decide whether a reunion was a good fit.
The Italian star left in early 2019 when Toronto, unwilling to meet his contract demands, sold him to Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal FC. At the time, Giovinco was the highest-earner in MLS with a salary of US$7.1 million.
Giovinco, who maintained a residence in Toronto, quit the Saudi club last August by mutual agreement and had made no secret of his desire to rejoin TFC.
In December 2020, the diminutive forward known as the Atomic Ant was named to the league's list of 25 greatest players, alongside the likes of David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Canadian Dwayne De Rosario.
In four seasons with Toronto, Giovinco had 68 goals and 52 assists in 114 regular-season games (111 starts).
He won MVP honours in his debut 2015 season, when he was directly involved in 65 per cent of Toronto's 58 goals with 22 goals and 16 assists. In all competitions, he had 83 goals and 64 assists in 142 appearances.
The 26-year-old Auro, a former Brazil youth international, spent the last four seasons with Toronto. Listed at five-foot-six and 137 pounds, the compact Brazilian — whose full name is Auro Alvaro da Cruz Junior — can play fullback, wingback or midfielder.
Auro, whose full name is Auro Alvaro da Cruz Junior, appeared in 25 of TFC's 34 league games last season, starting in 23. In 2018, then-coach Greg Vanney called the Brazilian "just a warrior. He shows up every single day. Loves to play soccer, gives us everything he has.”
In Brazil, he joined Sao Paulo FC’s academy at age 13, moving up the club ranks with loan spells at Clube Atletico Linense (2016) and America Futebol Clube (2017) before joining TFC on a loan that eventually became a permanent move.
Auro becomes the 16th player from last year's first team roster to depart, as Bradley looks to rebuild a squad that went 6-18-10 last season while finishing 26th out of 27 teams.
Jimenez is the eighth new face to sign with Toronto in the off-season, along with Insigne, Kerr, goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh and defenders Carlos Salcedo, Luca Petrasso, Shane O'Neill and Lukas MacNaughton.
The 28-year-old Jimenez started with CD Leganes' academy before playing for AD Union Adarve (2013-14), AD Alcorcon B (2014-15) and Atletico Pinto (2015) in the Spanish lower leagues.
The six-foot, 176-pounder moved to CD Illescas (2015-16) and CF Talavera de la Reina (2016-18), where his play won him the contract in Poland in 2018.
Jimenez scored 26 league goals in 33 matches for Talavera in the 2016-17 season, helping the club win promotion to the Spanish second-tier. Jimenez scored 36 goals in 68 appearances across all competitions in his two seasons with Talavera.
Kadin Chung, a native of Port Coquitlam, B.C., formerly with CPL champion Pacific FC, and Damia Viader, a Spanish native formerly with Union Omaha of the USL League One., are both in camp on trial.
In Austin, TFC will play pre-season games against Austin FC on Wednesday, the Chicago Fire on Saturday, the Houston Dynamo on Feb. 16 and Sporting Kansas City on Feb. 19.
Toronto FC Pre-Season Roster
Goalkeepers: Alex Bono, Luka Gavran (unsigned draft pick), Greg Ranjitsingh, Andreas Vaikla (TFC II), Quentin Westberg.
Defenders: Kadin Chung (trialist), Lukas MacNaughton, Chris Mavinga, Shane O'Neill, Luca Petrasso, Carlos Salcedo, Damia Viader (trialist).
Midfielders: Michael Bradley, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Noble Okello, Jonathan Osorio, Alejandro Pozuelo, Ralph Priso, Jacob Shaffelburg, Kosi Thompson (TFC II).
Forwards: Ifunanyachi Achara, Ayo Akinola, Jesús Jiménez, Deandre Kerr, Hugo Mbongue (TFC II), Jayden Nelson, Jordan Perruzza, Reshaun Walkes (unsigned draft (pick).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2022
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
