Toronto FC: Sebastian Giovinco raises questions about his future
By Paul Taylor
Sebastian Giovinco gives Toronto FC something to think about, after declaring he has had serious talks with another club.
The Toronto FC players reported for medicals at the beginning of the week, and it’s already become more newsworthy than expected. First, as confirmed on Tuesday, Victor Vazquez is leaving to join a club in Qatar.
In addition, uncertainty over Sebastian Giovinco’s status in Southern Ontario has once again come to the forefront of conversation. And it’s courtesy of the player himself.
With Giovinco entering the last year of his contract, he’s keen to clarify his future sooner than later. He’s made it clear his preference is to remain in Toronto after the 2019 season, but is looking for some security.
With this in mind, the 31-year-old had some interesting comments to share with the assembled media on Tuesday. In particular, he claimed there had been serious talk about another club being interested in him.
When pressed, Giovinco declined to share any further information. As reported by Sportsnet‘s John Molinaro, he said:
"“I try to honour my contract. We’ll see what happens. I want to stay here, but I hear something already this season (that) somebody wants to offer me to another team. (It can be my last (year), or not. We’ll see.”"
As far as head coach Greg Vanney is concerned, he hasn’t heard anything about another team contacting TFC. Further, no one else at the club has been contacted.
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So what’s going on? While it’s entirely conceivable there would be interest in Givovinco, surely there would have been some type of contact if any club was genuinely wanting to sign him?
As we previously reported, the four-time MLS All-Star’s agent, Andrea D’Amico, said he wants to finish his career in Toronto. D’Amico added that his client does not want to return to Europe.
Of course, this still leaves plenty of other options around the world. However, this all points towards Giovinco pressing to get his future resolved, so he can enter the new campaign with no distractions.
The problem here is, the Reds might prefer to complete the 2019 season, before discussing the Italian’s contract. Fair or not, his age probably plays a role into how many years a potential extension would consist of.
In addition, while money is no issue for TFC, Giovinco’s current deal has the highest cap hit in all of MLS. This will also play a part in any contract negotiations.
Toronto FC can use this to their advantage, however, especially with the 2015 MLS MVP expressing his desire to remain in Southern Ontario. In theory, they could get him re-signed at a lower cap hit.
Assuming this is the strategy though, the Reds don’t want to push their luck too much. At the end of the day, Giovinco is still an extremely valuable player, capable of taking over games at any time.
As poor as the team was overall in 2018, the same doesn’t really apply to the Turin, Italy native. Consider that he still managed 13 goals and 15 assists in 28 regular season games.
Giovinco also shone in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, as he helped TFC go all the way to the final. He was joint top scorer in the competition with four goals (while adding three assists) and was awarded the Golden Ball, which goes to the tournament’s best player.
After everything Giovinco has done for the Reds, you can make a strong argument they should do right by him before the 2019 campaign starts, and agree a new deal. However, there is every chance he’s going to have to remain patient and prepare himself for the possibility of entering the season without a new deal.
Only at this point, would we get more clarification over how serious (or genuine) any interest is from another club. Fans can only hope the best player in franchise history isn’t set to quickly follow Vazquez out of the exit door.
dark. Next. The impact of losing Victor Vazquez
What do you predict will happen with Giovinco? Is this his final season in Southern Ontario, or will Toronto FC sign him to a contract extension? Or do you see him leaving sometime in the coming months? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.