Toronto FC is on the verge of a stunning $100 million swoop that will entirely transform the soccer landscape in this city.

They have already secured the services of England and Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe. He is scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference on Monday.

That rumour was around for months as the club worked to convince the player he would thrive here, and to reassure his EPL team that they could afford to let him go.

In a far more shocking turn, they are also in final negotiations to sign U.S. and Roma midfielder Michael Bradley to join the team. According to a highly placed team source, that deal is in its final stages. If completed on schedule, Bradley would be introduced alongside Defoe on Jan. 13.

In order to make room for Bradley on the roster, TFC would presumably have to trade current designated player, Argentine Matias Laba. That deal would not have to be done for several weeks. There remains hope at TFC that he might be loaned out rather than dealt.

Contacted about the deal, MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke would offer only a terse, “I’m not going to talk about it.” Generally, when Leiweke doesn’t want to talk about things, it’s because they’re happening.

Upon introduction, Defoe will immediately rejoin Spurs in England. He will officially become a TFC player on March 1, two weeks before the start of the season in Seattle.

Bradley, a tough-minded midfield enforcer, would join Toronto FC immediately, and then go on a break before the opening of Major League Soccer’s pre-season.

It’s understood that the combined value of transfer fees and salaries for the two men would reach $100 million. This, in a league with a $3 million salary cap. Two guys — and they’re worth only $20 million less than Forbes’ valuation of the entire franchise.

This represents a seismic shift in the MLS landscape. Over their seven years in the league, Toronto FC has not yet competed in the playoffs. With the addition of Brazilian Gilberto, Defoe and Bradley, they would immediately become one of the league’s elite teams.

Defoe represents the velvet glove — a slinky, diminutive forward who has always found goals during an itinerant career.

Bradley would be the iron fist, hanging back and punishing opponents. There is an argument to be made that, in terms of impact on all three phases of the game, Bradley is the finest player on the U.S. squad. He’s also only 26 years old.

He had been marginalized at a surging Roma squad, one suspects in part because he’s the wrong nationality. He was being pursued by major clubs from across Europe, and with particular interest in Germany’s Bundesliga. Choosing MLS and Toronto FC instead would represent an enormous vote of confidence in where the club is headed.

Privately, Toronto FC have spoken of hopes that Defoe can add 30 goals scored a season, even as many as 40. The record high for a season is 17, set by Dwayne de Rosario. Good news. The Scarborough native is also set to be re-introduced, a feel-good occasion that will happen Thursday afternoon.

While Defoe and De Rosario move the metrics the right direction up front, Bradley can have an enormous impact on the historically porous situation in the back. In Italy, they call him ‘The General.’ In that country, they don’t give out nicknames to foreigners if they’re schlubs.

On paper, this is becoming a powerhouse, a team not only set to light fire to the standings, but also pull in enormous continental interest. What a change a whole big pile of money can make.

This is all part of a multi-faceted investment in the soccer club, which has fallen out of the picture in recent years owing to mismanagement and a miserable string of failing seasons.

MLSE hopes to undertake a more than $100 million expansion of BMO Field, both to increase the ticket base in order to pay for their shiny new toys, as well as lure the 2017 NHL Winter Classic.

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Toronto FC has foregone solvency (they will bleed money the coming year, regardless of how many fans show up) in favour of relevance.

It’s all propitious timing. The Leafs are falling to the edges of the playoff picture. The Jays have done nothing in the off-season to convince anyone they will improve next year. The Raptors are surging, but only an optimist on acid would believe their season will extend beyond May.

Perhaps seven years after they began playing in this city, this is finally the summer Toronto FC really captures the imagination of their hometown.

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