Both Fabio Quagliarella and Alberto Gilardino have been linked to MLS in the past and when their names have come up it has often been in association with Toronto FC. The latest round of reports, originating from Gianluca Di Marzio, again link the pair to Toronto FC but this time it appears that the agent who represents both players, Beppe Bozzo, will be in New York and Toronto trying to work on transfers that would see the pair come to MLS next summer.

Both players are currently plying their trade in Serie A with Quagliarella currently playing for Juventus and Gilardino playing for Genoa. They are both forward and they are both in their early 30's with Quagliarella being 30-years-old and Girlardino a year older at 31. Both players have represented Italy on the international stage including at the World Cup. Both have won major prizes at some of Italy's top clubs.

Their resumes are quite similar at this stage of their careers as both have spent over a decade proving that they can score goals at the highest level including on the European stage where both players have impressive scoring records for their clubs.

At this stage it would seem to make more sense for Gilardino to make the move to MLS as he seemed to have a diminishing role at Genoa having spent last season out on loan to Bologna. He has seen a return to the fold this season though having already started 8 Serie A matches for Genoa and finding the back of the net on three occasions. Genoa may well need him to keep up that kind of form just to give them a chance of avoiding relegation this year. At some point they will likely want to cash in on Gilardino though having reportedly spent €8million to sign him from Fiorentina back in January of 2012.

Quagliarella may not be part of the first choice strike partnership for Juventus this season but he has still had a role to play as the club are busy trying to compete in a number of different competitions. The club signing attackers like Carlos Tevez, Mirco Vucinic, and Llorente has reduced his role significantly but the fact that Quagliarella has featured in two of Juventus' three Champions League games thus far shows that he still has some part to play.

Both players are possible targets for MLS but neither will come cheap. Both are currently under contract until at least the summer of 2015 so any interested MLS club would likely have to offer up a decent amount of money to get the transfer done and then would have to be ready to pay substantial wages on top of that.

Toronto is clearly on the hunt for Designated Players and it would not be a surprise to see both of these names included on their short list of targets after management's recent trip to Europe. If Bozzo is going to be in Toronto this weekend for the Montreal match it could represent a significant step forward in the process of trying to sign at least one designated player even if any potential deal would not be completed until January and the player would not arrive until June at the earliest when the Serie A season wraps up.

Toronto FC's management trio were also reported to have been in England on their recent scouting trip with Tottenham being one of the clubs that they allegedly visited. There is no word yet on if they made progress with other potential targets but hopefully there will be good news on that front in the coming weeks and months.