Major League Soccer club Toronto FC is set to land another international star.
Federico Bernardeschi reportedly is signing with Toronto on a free transfer from Serie A side Juventus, according to ESPN’s Taylor Twellman:
Toronto first traded former MLS MVP Alejandro Pozuelo to Inter Miami, which opened the door for Bernardeschi to come through.
The 28-year-old Bernardeschi, who can line up as a winger or a central attacking midfielder, has played the last five seasons with Juventus after spending 10 years developing in Fiorentina’s youth academy. He logged eight goals in 134 appearances during his tenure.
Bernardeschi has also registered 39 caps with the senior Italian national team. His biggest feat was his involvement in the UEFA Euro 2020 Final – which took place in 2021 due to COVID-19 – against England. He came in as a substitute to the injured Federico Chiesa and later scored the eventual game-winning penalty kick in the shootout.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Now with Toronto, he’ll be facing an uphill climb. Toronto is currently 12th place in the Eastern Conference and has the second-worst goal differential in the league at minus-10.
Sports
Bernardeschi isn’t the only Italian international member to join Toronto this summer. Fellow winger Lorenzo Insigne also signed with the club on a free transfer after 12 seasons with Napoli, where he deposited 96 goals in 337 appearances.