Toronto FC: Selling Ager Aketxe makes sense

Reports have emerged around Ager Aketxe’s short tenure at Toronto FC, with the Spaniard rumored to want out. If the Reds listen to the player’s demands, a potential move will only make sense.

Spanish blog Mercado recently described a host of Madrid-based clubs that are in for the signature of Ager Aketxe. His unhappiness in MLS with Toronto FC, combined with the attractiveness of potentially playing in La Liga again have only made the rumor seem more and more true.

The publication goes on to write:

"Ager Aketxe went to Toronto FC in the MLS in February, but the Athletic youth squad has not adapted to the type of football that is played in the American League and wants to return to Spain.Three teams from the Community of Madrid: Leganés, Rayo and Getafe are interested in Aketxe.The problem is that he has two more years of contract in Toronto, but he can force his exit. And his salary is one of the best paid ."

TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko went on to the Jeff Blair show to describe his intentions of “making some roster changes”. Not much has happened within the transfer period, but selling Aketxe would be the perfect start.

With the amount of struggle Toronto is going through at the moment, there needs to be a clear sense of worth and money. Furthermore, Aketxe is nowhere near the value of $1.19 million per season, at the rate he’s playing so far in this campaign.

Supporters know how much the Reds need defensive players. Ans think about this: Aketxe is making more than Drew Moor, Justin Morrow, Auro and Eriq Zavaleta combined. That’s an awful lot of money invested in the midfield — a position that didn’t need much upgrading, but received a huge investment anyway.

It’s come to bite TFC back. At the moment, Aketxe has only produced an assist and a yellow card in nine MLS appearances thus far. To go into further detail, the former Bilbao product is amassing an average 84 percent pass success rate, while barely recording a tackle per fixture.

This all goes to add to the fact the midfielder has not started in the past two fixtures, after a very poor display against New York City FC. To put this into perspective, the 24-year-old earned a 5.84 match rating in the contest, which was his lowest of the season.

If the Reds decide to sell, a huge market value of around $2.3 million could be heading to their budget. However, a portion of that monetary amount might go down, because of the Spaniard’s recent form.

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Toronto went out to spend a ton of money on players from Europe in the recent window. Gregory van der Wiel was another big money transfer, while Auro from Brazil has turned out to arguably be the best acquisition.

It’s saying an awful lot about where to put the money and when. Younger players are thriving in a league filled with older veterans. Aketxe, unfortunately, had a chance to fit right into that category and despite many chances, he was never able to find the right touch.

It would only be right for the player to explore his potential elsewhere, while the Reds explore their ability to sort out the huge depth problem on the squad right now.

Next: Same thing, different day for the Reds in Minnesota

What are your thoughts on Aketxe’s tenure with Toronto FC? Should the Reds try to move the player elsewhere? Let us know in the comments section below.