TORONTO – Maximiliano Urruti is finally in the building, but how long he’ll be staying for remains to be seen.
Urruti, a 22-year-old Argentine forward who has been a long-term transfer target of Toronto FC, practised with the Reds at the team’s Downsview training facility on Wednesday morning. Urruti is in town to work out with the TFC, and the team is hopeful it will ink the Argentine prospect to a contract ahead of Saturday’s road game against the Columbus Crew.
Coach Ryan Nelsen revealed that TFC is close to signing Urruti – although, we’ve heard that before, right? – while at the same time leaving room for the possibility, no matter how small, that a deal might not happen.
“With how many processes we have to go through before that happens it is a bit complicated. But obviously, he’s a very interesting player, and if everything works out it works out,” Nelsen told a small group of reporters after practice.
Nelsen later added: “I was told about six months ago (a deal with Urruti) was done, so I can’t say anything at the moment. Things happen, and crazy things happen, but we’d like to say it’s pretty close to done.”
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Why is it taking so long to finalize a deal? For one, Urruti recently walked out on his Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys over non-payment of wages, so there is some debate as to whether he’s a free agent or not.
“His club is going through some issues and there are some legal issues that the club is dealing with, and that’s why it has to go through a third party, which makes it more difficult. That’s why it’s being held up for so long,” Nelsen explained.
Earlier this season, TFC management tried to lure Urruti from Newell’s Old Boys, with Nelsen even publicly stating a few times that a deal was “virtually done.”
But things hit a snag after former Newell’s Old Boys manager Gerardo Martino, recently named FC Barcelona’s new coach, put his foot down and made it known to the club’s owners that he did not want to release Urruti. TFC slowly lost patience, and the deal was quashed. But Urruti seemingly become available recently after he walked out on Newell’s Old Boys over a wage dispute.
The Argentine club felt differently, and posted a message on its official website saying that Urruti was still under contract and that any team interested in his services would still have to negotiate with them. When last Thursday’s MLS transfer deadline passed, it looked as though TFC might lose out on signing the Argentine.
Now it appears as though Urruti will become the newest member of TFC and the second Argentine on the roster, joining midfielder and designated player Matias Laba, who transferred from Buenos Aires-based club Argentinos Juniors to Toronto earlier this season.
If a deal does get completed soon, Urruti would be eligible to play Saturday in Columbus, but chances are he won’t feature against the Crew.
“He hasn’t played in quite a bit. I’m not going to throw the guy in the deep end,” Nelsen said.
It’s hardly a surprise that Toronto has been looking for some attacking reinforcements.
The Reds have scored 21 goals in 23 games this season, the third-worst offensive record among the 19 teams in MLS. A 2-1 win over Columbus on July 27 halted one of Toronto’s longest goal droughts in club history at 423 consecutive minutes.
The hope is that Urruti can help TFC’s sputtering attack and give the team a legitimate goal-scoring threat up front.
“We like him. He’s a very direct striker. He always seems to get on the end of things. He has a good work habit. His technical ability is very good. He ticks a lot of boxes,” Nelsen stated.
“He’s at a nice age where you haven’t seen the best of him and he still has lot to grow. But at 22, (he’s) energetic and enthusiastic, and a good young player who could be at a club for several years. A lot of clubs are interested, and are still interested in Maxi, so hopefully something can get done ASAP.”
At the same time, Nelsen was quick to downplay expectations that Urruti would be a cure-all to the team’s offensive problems.
“For me, he’s a young player and he’s coming to a new country …. It’s going to take time and I don’t expect him to set the world on fire,” Nelsen said.
“He’s got to find his own feet and whether that happens in Columbus on Saturday or a few weeks or a couple months down the road, that doesn’t affect my thinking. We’re here for the long run with these types of players.”
Urruti was not made available to speak to the media after Wednesday’s practice.
