Toronto FC unveiled striker Josh Sargent at a high-profile event at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, attended by reporters, cameras and a vocal group of supporters. The 26-year-old American arrived on the back of a reported transfer package worth more than $22 million paid to Norwich City, making him the most significant signing in the club’s recent rebuild.
Sargent kept his remarks brief at the unveiling but was more expansive when speaking with media afterwards.
“Hopefully a lot of wins and a lot of goals,” he said when asked what success would look like this season. “We got to take it day by day. Keep working hard, start getting wins under our belt, and hopefully good things come from that.”
The move also carries personal significance. After leaving his native St. Louis at 17 to join German side Werder Bremen, Sargent spent years proving himself in Europe, racking up goals across the top two divisions of Germany and England. He was named to the EFL Championship Team of the Season last year and won Norwich’s Player of the Season award. But with three children, the most recent born in December, he and his wife Kirsten were ready to return closer to home.
“It’s something me and my family have been thinking about for a bit now, getting closer to home,” Sargent said. “That, along with Toronto explaining their vision for the club and the direction it’s heading, got me very excited.”
On the pitch, TFC general manager Jason Hernandez sees strong parallels between the Championship and MLS in terms of physicality and demands, and has little doubt Sargent can translate his European form to North America.
“If you’re telling us we’re getting arguably the best striker in the Championship, I’d like to think we’re getting a really good striker for MLS,” Hernandez said.
Sargent is the centerpiece of a broader rebuild that also includes signings such as Walker Zimmerman, Dániel Sallói and Benjamín Kuscevic. Head coach Robin Fraser stressed that character was as important as quality in the recruitment process.
“You look for good players, you look for good people, look for people who want to be here,” Fraser said. “And when you find all three in one, it’s pretty incredible.”
Toronto have started the season with two road losses and sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but Zimmerman expressed confidence the squad has enough to compete.
“We have a lot of guys who are just now coming into the team,” he said. “It’s a group that I think can contend.”
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