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We are mere weeks away from Toronto FC players reporting for pre-season training camp. Zapatillas Nike España . The question of who will be present and who will be elsewhere adds to the intrigue ahead of the new Major League Soccer season. With the January transfer window open and business to be done, the transfer rumour mill continues to churn, growing in name, scope and prominence in players involved. Through all the rumour and conjecture, all I can tell you is what I believe to be true and how the situation is playing out. If cards are played accordingly and all goes to plan, Toronto FC will replace Jermain Defoe with two European based players of quality. Nothing is set in stone. Much remains up in the air. The design is clear and the process remains fluid. Its common knowledge that all of Toronto FCs significant transfer dealings hinge on Defoe. Much work is being done behind the scenes to settle the issue and prepare for another significant play in the transfer market. As TSNs Luke Wileman reported Thursday, Toronto FC Head Coach Greg Vanney expects Defoe to return to Toronto for pre-season training January 17. His plane ticket is more likely to go unused or transferred into the name of another passenger. Defoe is currently training with his former club Tottenham Hotspur. This is absolutely by design. It keeps Defoe in the spotlight and on the radar of a number of Premier League teams interested in his services. Defoe is concerned with his personal and professional dealings in England, so not returning to Toronto remains the preferable option. Toronto FC remains diligent in working out a deal best for all parties. The right number and right deal has not been made for Defoe as of yet. However, Toronto FC has four or five legit Premier League suitors for Defoes services. The club is confident they can get a deal done on Toronto FCs terms before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. Interestingly enough, one of the interested clubs looking to add Defoe is Sunderland. The Black Cats have only scored 18 goals in 20 league games. Steven Fletcher leads all Sunderland strikers with a disappointing four-goal return. Defoe is a fit, and quite frankly, a need. Enter Sunderlands Jozy Altidore into the equation. Multiple outlets reported and Vanney acknowledged this week Toronto FC is among three MLS teams interested in the U.S. Mens National team and Sunderland striker. Altidore, 25, has failed to make his mark in the Premier League after a move from the Eredivisie in the summer of 2013. One goal in 42 games hardly does his quality justice. Still at a young age, powerful in physique and following in the footsteps of many other of his USMNT teammates, a move back to North American football makes absolute sense to resurrect his club career. Toronto FC has made a move for Altidore, and the American striker is said to be keen on joining Toronto. Michael Bradley remains a staunch advocate of the club and city, and his friendship with Altidore is an attraction, making Toronto his preferable MLS landing spot. Toronto FC are favourites for Altidore, and now its about getting a deal done. There is a match to be made between Toronto FC (Defoe) and Sunderland (Altidore). How and if the deal comes to be remains to be seen. Sunderland are believed to be keen on a swap, Defoe-for-Altidore and all that comes along with the players. A move as such isnt preferable for Toronto FC. Defoe is a more valuable commodity from a Premier League production perspective. Defoe is a proven goal scorer in Englands top flight - Altidore a disappointment at the top level. The pot would likely need to be sweetened for Toronto to agree to such a deal. A swap deal cannot entirely be ruled out, but other business incentives would have to be taken into consideration. For example, Toronto FC paid upwards of a $10 million transfer fee to bring Defoe to Toronto, but profited from other mutual business ventures with Tottenham, namely the summer friendly at BMO Field. The game was a money maker for Toronto FC. A like summer friendly with Sunderland wouldnt have the same cache, but is another chip to be considered with other business dealings. Defoe to Sunderland could very well end up happening. With multiple clubs calling for Defoe, Toronto FCs options are not limited. We sometimes believe Premier League clubs are flush with more cash than they actually have. Its a delicate process, so for the meantime, Toronto FC remain resolute, determined to get a deal preferable to what they are trying to achieve. There is confidence they will get what they want. It is not the goal of Toronto FC to merely sell Defoe and wash their hands clean. They are looking to build. They are looking to make an even bigger splash. This is the Tim Leiweke way. The outgoing CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is spear-heading the Defoe dealings and leading the recruitment/replacement process. A step-back, or even the status quo is not the aim. Further investment is the way. Bringing in another top level player and making another splash is the goal. Toronto FC is said to be very active in pursuing other significant names. Altidore is just one of them. The club has been linked to multiple big names over recent months. There seems to be some truth in a previous pursuit of Wesley Sneijder. Galatasaray are unwilling to part with the player, so that door closed quickly. This is the type of player Toronto FC covets to take the team to the next level. Reports out of Italy Friday go down a similar path. Toronto FC have been linked to Juventus striker Sebastian Giovinco. Such a move follows what I reported last week that Toronto FC wants to add more than just one piece (Altidore). Giovinco, 27, is out of favour at Juventus, having made only two Serie A starts on the season. Multiple European clubs are said to be seeking his services. None seem ready or willing to offer the kind of money Toronto FC is said to have on the table. Funny enough, Giovinco is also being linked to Tottenham, bringing the entire Toronto FC-Defoe-Tottenham relationship full circle. Giovinco would command a salary in the $7 million range. Can Leiweke convince the Board of Directors to invest this kind of money into the soccer property, on top of Bradley and potentially Altidores lucrative contracts? That remains to be seen. If Giovinco is intrigued by Toronto FCs audacious approach, which have reportedly caught the players attention, Leiweke will have the ultimate sell job to do to the MLSE Board of Directors to reach deeper into the coffers to bring in genuine talent. MLSE has already showed willingness to go above and beyond, with the expansion of BMO Field into a +30,000 seat facility opening further means and methods for club growth and profitability. The good news it seems Giovinco hasnt denied Toronto FCs advances. According to the report, Giovinco is intrigued by the North American adventure and seems keen to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Marco Di Vaio and Alessandro Nesta on an MLS journey. The fact the player is only 27, in his prime of his career, seeking out opportunity makes such a transfer even more spectacular, breaking away from the MLS trend of recruitment of big name players who are past their prime. Giovincos arrival would send shock waves across MLS - style and substance for a club dead-set on getting it right. A partnership with Altidore would be ideal, with Giovinco suited to play as a second striker or recess striker role. Make no mistake; Altidore and Giovinco are both realistic gets. How the negotiations, dealings, and roster shuffling plays out remain to be seen. Nothing is set in stone. But the process is moving fast. Its January 9 and MLS still doesnt have a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. That leaves Toronto FC, and all MLS teams attempting to build rosters through rules that may no longer be applicable. There is no clear consensus on where negotiations will end up and what the new landscape will look like. One possible amendment to the current structure is to add an additional Designated Player spot for teams willing to use. If a move to add a fourth designated player is tabled during CBA negotiations, MLSEs deep pockets would make supporting such an initiative a no-brainer. A handful of MLS teams with significant financial backing would likely follow suit. A fourth designated player spot would allow Toronto FC to move forward and acquire both Altidore and Giovinco immediately (pending the sale of Defoe). If no additional DP is agreed upon, Toronto FC would have to wait until July. Giovinco is out of contract in July and would be free to join at that time. Gilberto would be a casualty to the Italian strikers arrival. The Brazilian striker struggled in his first MLS season but comes with a more reasonable DP contract that has value in the marketplace. There are many ifs, ands or buts in all this. But wheres theres smoke, theres fire. Toronto FC is more ambitious than ever. Moving on from Defoe was never going to be an easy process. The process becomes much easier to tolerate with Altidore and potentially Giovinco as end reward, making for a dream end scenario for Toronto FC. Gareth Wheeler can be reached at: @WheelerTSN gareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca Air Max Spain .Fucale will not only be one of the local boys, he is also a Montreal Canadiens draft pick and will have a huge cheering section when Canada opens the tournament Dec. Zapatillas Baratas Imitacion .Y. -- A month ago, Syracuse was unbeaten, ranked No. https://www.zapatillasbaratasspain.es/air-max-baratas-spain-outlet-d1388.html . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. MILWAUKEE -- Jason Hammel threw a sinker early in counts to try to entice groundball outs against an aggressive lineup and mixed things up with a fastball in the low 90s. It was an overwhelming combination for the short-handed Milwaukee Brewers. Hammel had a season-high seven strikeouts and allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings, Starlin Castro hit two solo homers and the Chicago Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-0 win Sunday. Hammel, one of the few bright spots in a dismal April for Chicago, made his impressive work sound easy afterward. He hasnt given up more than five hits in each of his five starts. "I featured a pretty good sinker down in the zone early to get a lot of ground balls and just attacked the zone," he said. "So, thats really all it was today." Hammel (4-1) didnt allow a hit until Carlos Gomez doubled down the left-field line with one out in the sixth. He then got into trouble after walking Scooter Gennett and making an errant pickoff throw to put runners at second and third. But the righty got a strikeout before Aramis Ramirez bounced out to end the threat. "Great, great job. Mixed all his pitches well. Stayed down," manager Rick Renteria said. Chicago improved to 8-16, the last team in the majors to get to eight victories. Chicago scored twice in the second on Castros first homer and Darwin Barneys RBI fielders choice with the bases loaded off Brewers starter Wily Peralta (3-1). Castros second shot in the eighth off reliever Brandon Kintzler barely cleared the wall in the left-field corner. Castro had his second career multi-homer game in nearly three weeks, having going deep twice April 8 against Pittsburgh. His second-inning homer also just cleared the wall 400 feet away in dead centre and evaded the leaping Gomezs outstretched glove. On the mound, Peralta pumped his right arm in front of his waist in frustration. He thought the Gold Glove-winning Gomez might have had a shot at robbing the homer. "Always," Peralta said. "When GoGo runs back, you think he haas a chance to make the catch. Zapatillas Baratas. " Gomez said he had the perfect timing, "but its not even close." He went 1 for 4 on his bobblehead day. Peralta, a right-hander with a 96-mph fastball had trouble spotting pitches in the second. Ramirez stepped on third for an out on Barneys grounder but his throw trying to get Nate Schierholtz at home bounced up the first-base line to allow the run to score. Despite not having his best command, Peralta still just gave up three runs on eight hits in seven innings. He struck out six. "If hes not going to be sharp and thats what he does, its pretty good," manager Ron Roenicke said. Having Ryan Braun and Jean Segura could have helped, but both Milwaukee stars missed the game with injuries. Braun sat with a slight chest muscle strain, while Segura had a partially closed right eye and bruised right cheek after being accidentally hit during a practice swing by Braun on Saturday. Segura said after the game he hoped to return this week during the Brewers seven-game road trip to St. Louis and Cincinnati. Braun might miss three to five days. The remaining Brewers were overmatched by Hammel, who stayed low and away from the Brewers remaining potent right-handed bats. Hammel was lifted after allowing pinch hitter Rickie Weeks single to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon held the Brewers hitless the final two innings. Notes: Despite the win, the Cubs lost the three-game series to the Brewers and extended the teams string of winless series to 13 dating to last season. Chicago last won a series after taking two of three from Cincinnati in September. ... C John Baker went 2 for 4 that ended an 0-for-18 stretch. ... Ron Roenicke said the club would hold off on making any roster moves while Braun and Segura continue to be evaluated. ... The Brewers travel to St. Louis to start a seven-game road trip, with Yovani Gallardo (2-0) getting the start Monday. Chicago begins a three-game set in Cincinnati and sends Jeff Samardzija (0-2) to the mound. ' ' '