

Posted by

Armen Bedakian ,

November 7, 2013 Email

Armen Bedakian Twitter @ArmenBedakian Read this on your iPhone/iPad or Android device





Alberto Gilardino is set to become Toronto FC’s next Designated Player. RedNation Online has learned that Gilardino has agreed to a move to Toronto FC, who offered him a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract. The deal is rumoured to be valued at $3 million a year for four years, with a $6 million transfer fee going to Genoa. Gilardino has not yet signed a contract with Toronto FC, but three separate sources have confirmed to RedNation that Gilardino’s signing is imminent. A tweet from Sky Sports writer Tancredi Palmeri seems to indicate that Gilardino is close to signing as well.



Gilardino on the verge to accept the offer from Toronto, according to Sky Italy — Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) November 6, 2013 According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Genoa had accepted Toronto FC’s offer to sell the player, with a loan option to keep the Italian forward at the club until the end of the 2013/2014 Serie A season. This would mean that Gilardino would join Toronto FC in the summer, and not in January as Toronto FC’s management has wished for. After the Toronto FC – Montreal Impact game, a fellow Toronto FC reporter, Leonardo Molinelli, spoke with Gilardino’s agent, Beppe Bozzo, who was in town to watch the game. The agent was left impressed by Toronto and said that the city would be a place his client would probably like to live in. Gilardino, a forward, has scored nearly 200 goals in over 500 games in all competitions. He would become the seventh Designated Player to play for Toronto FC. The 31-year-old forward is an Italian international and has played for the national team in recent games. He is a potential pick for Italy’s World Cup squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. See also: TATTICA - Is Gilardino the DP TFC should pursue?