TORONTO — There’s a feeling of freshness around Toronto FC these days.
Amid a flurry of transactions, TFC will return home after more than a month away on Saturday to host the Columbus Crew and the club’s newest designated player, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, will be front and centre.
Asked for his initial impressions on Mihailovic after a week with TFC, head coach Robin Fraser put it succinctly: “he’s really good.”
“Watching him play, his ability to handle the ball in tight spaces, his ability to find solutions and execute them — all while it looks like he’s having a stroll in the park — is pretty cool,” said Fraser. “He’s just a very aware player who’s very capable of exploiting situations that he sees.”
Mihailovic, the 26-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla., came to Toronto earlier in August in a cash deal with the Colorado Rapids worth up to US$9 million. He then signed on with Toronto FC as a designated player through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029.
The American seemed to make an immediate impact during his TFC debut, starting in an impressive 1-1 away draw against the conference-leading Philadelphia Union that snapped a two-game skid.
Fraser said that quick comfort has extended off the pitch, too.
“He’s just one of the guys in the locker room. He obviously carries weight and influence because of the title that goes with him, but he doesn’t carry himself like he’s better than anyone, he doesn’t look down at anyone,” Fraser said.
“Real excited about where we’re going and the fact that he’s been a part of it.”
Richie Laryea, the TFC veteran, agreed that Mihailovic’s early fit has been seamless.
“Even from the first session he was in and then to the game that he played against Philly — that’s a tough place for anyone to have their first game is away at Philly — and I think he did pretty well. He has a ton of quality and he’s going to help us a lot for years to come,” Laryea said.
It’s been a busy stretch of transactions for TFC between bringing in Mihailovic and cutting ties with big-name Italian imports Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi in July.
In the days after the Mihailovic move, the team loaned forward Charlie Sharp to the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the United Soccer League and signed Malik Henry to a first-team deal from TFC II.
On Wednesday, TFC dealt midfielder Matty Longstaff to CF Montreal for forward Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and up to $275,000 in General Allocation Money. Fraser said Vilsaint could play on Saturday.
They also added another $350,000 in GAM in separate deals with Miami on Thursday and Charlotte on Tuesday.
It’s all led to a different atmosphere around the club as it enters the home stretch.
“Some of the distractions that have been there all year have been removed and now we just find ourselves in a position where we look around and ‘OK, this is our group,'” said Fraser. A lot of the noise from outside seems to have quieted.”
Still, they might not be done there. The transfer window ends Thursday and Fraser said general manager Jason Hernandez is in talks about several other potential moves.
TFC currently sits 12th in the East at 5-7-13, 14 points out of a playoff spot. Columbus, at 12-8-5, is tied for fourth in the conference with 44 points, matching Orlando City.
It’s Toronto’s first home game since July 12 when it hosted Atlanta in a 1-1 draw.
Fraser said the team might be the healthiest it’s been all season, and as such, internal competition has gone up a notch.
The remaining nine games for Toronto are mostly about setting the franchise up to take a step forward next season with its newly established core — yet there’s still, perhaps, an outside shot at making a late run into the playoffs.
“If this was April, this would be a perfect spot to be in because we feel like we’re building and we’re growing,” Fraser said. “Having said all of that and all the positives that we can talk about, we have put ourselves in a big hole. Winning is still the No. 1 priority and we don’t even want to talk about the P-word, but we can do everything we can to try to get involved in that discussion.”
For TFC to cobble together a winning streak, it will need to score more goals after netting just 26 in 25 matches to date.
Mihailovic should help. For his professional career in MLS and Europe, he holds 48 goals and 63 assists in 244 games.
Columbus could provide a good opportunity for the offence — the Ohio club sits middle-of-the-pack defensively, a contrast to the stingy Philadelphia side Toronto just tied.
Still, TFC has not pushed across more than one goal since a 3-0 win over Portland in late June.
The Crew are coming off two straight wins in the Leagues Cup, even as the reigning champions failed to advance past the group stage. They’ve also picked up victories in five of their last eight MLS matches.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
Myles Dichter, The Canadian Press
