Toronto FC’s top brass “planted a seed” on their most recent European recruiting trip.

If something happens to sprout, the Reds could sport one of the richest starting lineups MLS has ever seen.

“We’ve put out an offer,” Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko told the Sun in his first one-on-one interview since he joined the team. “Once the players and clubs are committed, I think we can get there financially.”

MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke told a group of supporters last month that TFC has been approved to spend a dump truck full of cash — $26 million to be exact.

But, according to sources, it appears the club might need to swap the truck for an entire armoured car of large bills.

The Toronto Sun has learned from multiple sources that Tottenham Hotspur attacker Jermain Defoe is at the top of TFC’s off-season wish list. The 31-year-old, a one-time teammate of current TFC bench boss Ryan Nelsen, could demand a salary as high as $5 million a season.

Although Defoe has been struggling to lock up a consistent starting role at Spurs, the 5-foot-7 striker was included in England’s most recent World Cup qualifying roster and fits the profile of the players Leiweke is seeking.

“I think once you say Serie A and England and you look at the rosters of the teams, who’s doing well and who might have an interest looking at the age, I think people can surmise a certain list of players,” Bezbatchenko said. “It is what it is. I’m not going to say whether it’s true or not.

“We need to score goals. If we can get a No. 9 and a No. 10, that would be great ... It’s up to the players to decide if they want to come to MLS.”

As for that No. 10, the Reds are seeking another English international to potentially join the fold.

It took Leiweke two years to bring David Beckham to the L.A. Galaxy — and it appears it could take the same amount of time for TFC’s new head honcho to bring Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard to the league.

Toronto would be willing to make Lampard — by far — the highest-paid player in MLS following next summer’s World Cup.

Had Leiweke stayed in L.A., Lampard might already be patrolling the Galaxy’s midfield.

“If it’s the right player, I think we have support,” Bezbatchenko said. “If it’s the right player, the (MLSE Board) is committed.”

Toronto is hoping for movement on a number of DP targets over the next month. If terms are met, the Reds could sign a pre-contract with a player or players, giving TFC the ability to announce an imminent DP signing six months before a potential post-World Cup arrival.

Although Bezbatchenko didn’t confirm either of the aforementioned targets, he made one thing absolutely clear: Finishing next season with the second-lowest number of goals in the league won’t be good enough.

“You need around 46 or 47 (goals in a season) to be playoff-eligible. We need to be looking for that,” TFC’s new GM said.

As well as a host of other off-season additions to support high-priced targets should they decide to leave England for MLS.

With MLS clubs already crunching salary cap numbers ahead of the 2014 season, Bezbatchenko has an idea of which players might become available.

“When you bring in a star Designated Player, you also need to have people who can support them in all positions. We’d be open to looking at hardened MLS players — experienced veterans of MLS who know what it takes to get to the playoffs and win in the playoffs.”

Look for clubs with multiple Designated Players — the L.A. Galaxy, Seattle Sounders and New York Red Bulls — to be open to offloading or moving parts come winter.

“One of the things I can bring is to be communicating with the other general managers and technical directors (around MLS), which I’ve already done,” Bezbatchenko said. “Just because it’s after roster freeze doesn’t mean teams aren’t talking or preparing for next year.

“We need players who have won an MLS Cup or have advanced to the playoffs.”

Should Toronto land either of its dream DP targets, they’ll also need players to stem the tide until the cavalry arrive.

“We can get guys on loan or it depends on the veterans that we bring in,” Bezbatchenko said of entering 2014 without potential signings. “There’s also an inter-league loan so we can get a guy under a certain age. There are certain things we can do to fill in those gaps if we were to get (two DPs) who come after the World Cup.”

Unlike previous TFC GMs, who promised the world but delivered success the size of P.E.I., Bezbatchenko is quietly confident as he learns the landscape of the city. He doesn’t give too much away even while he convinces you he’s the most competent suit to ever occupy the suite at BMO Field.

“You don’t want to go out with this big vision and mission statement without learning and understanding the people at the club first,” he told the Sun. “I’m not going to be the person to do something if I don’t have the support of my club.

“I want to be reflective of our players, our city and our academy, all in one. I want to lead this club to a championship. It needs to be reflective of what the fans want. I need to learn that first. That will come out and I’ll be very clear on what the club is trying to do and what I’m trying to do.”

Most importantly, the Reds are finally in a position to be buyers instead of sellers this off-season after dumping a number of bad contracts throughout the season — something that could pave the way for an influx of talent in addition to anything Toronto might land on the DP front.

“The contractual situation combined with allocation,” Bezbatchenko replied when asked what were the biggest positives heading into 2014. “Since we didn’t make the playoffs, we’ll get a little load (of allocation cash) that we’ll be able to use to pick up more players or the veterans.”

And just maybe potentially grow what started as a seed this off-season into something much larger than BMO Field has ever seen.

TFC MAKE IMPACT FELT

Roles reversed Saturday afternoon in a match that saw Toronto FC dominate the Montreal Impact from start to finish before claiming a 1-0 win at BMO Field.

Robert Earnshaw’s opener a quarter-hour in delayed the Impact’s potential playoff qualification for 24 hours as the Quebecers now must wait to find out their fate.

By keeping the Impact winless in eight all-time trips to BMO Field, TFC’s Canadian counterparts will miss the post-season if the stars align on Sunday.

If the Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution win, combined with the Chicago Fire picking up a point, the Impact will finish outside the playoffs three months after being at the top of the table.

The visitors were lucky to only be down a goal at halftime after Earnshaw opened the scoring when he re-directed a shot from Jonathan Osorio past a helpless Troy Perkins.

Earnshaw had a one-on-one attempt denied by Perkins in the 33rd minute before the Impact’s ’keeper came up big again to deny Osorio’s look from the edge of the penalty area a minute later.

After TFC’s Kyle Bekker hit the crossbar five minutes before the half, Impact head coach Marco Schallibaum removed his hat in disgust as he entered the tunnel for the break.

“I thought the first half was absolutely fantastic and the guys passed the ball extremely well and controlled the game,” TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen said. “The only thing that disappointed me was that we didn’t get that second goal. We knew if we had got that second goal that we probably would have gone on to win by a bit more.”

Instead, it was Joe Bendik who preserved the points after halftime.

Bendik’s reflex save to deny Davy Arnaud in the 53rd minute kept the Reds in front in a match that saw the Impact’s normally upstart attack look rudimentary.

After the Reds had a ball cleared of Montreal’s goal line in the 81st minute, Bendik came up big again when Andrea Pisanu beat TFC’s offside trap before putting his one-on-one look into Bendik’s chest.

“When you are up 1-0 there is always that pressure and obviously they are a team in the playoff hunt and need to get something out of the game,” Nelsen said. “So you knew that they were going to throw the kitchen sink at us at the end.”

That, or explosives. Some of the 300 or so Montreal supporters in the northeast corner of the venue lit smoke bombs and flares in the 90th minute before launching a bottle-rocket into the night sky over the field.

On a day Montreal needed to put forth a big effort, its fans seemed to provide far more of a spark in the stands.