Kevin Payne has his signature signing.
Former Argentine youth international (5 caps) Matías Laba was signed as a young DP today. As a 21-year-old, his cap hit will be $200,000, $150,000 less than a full DP would cost.
We don’t know the full contract value as the player’s union hasn’t released that info yet and MLS doesn’t tell fans anything.
With the Leafs charging $800 for playoff tickets, we probably don’t need to worry about MLSE’s money, however, so it’s the cap hit that matters and that value will stay consistent at $200,000 until he is 24.
Payne sees him being with the club for that long. He said today that he expected he would be a “mainstay of our team for years to come.”
Make no mistake, this is the signing that Payne is putting his reputation on. It’s exactly the type of player that he said that Toronto needed and most of his off-season moves were designed to make room for this type of signing.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
What type of signing is that? Young, Latin and, within context, cheap – an Argentine DP is likely cheaper than a European DP would cost.
The promise of Latin America has long been held up by fans of MLS as being the key to good value signings. Certainly, there has been some great players from the region – including arguably one of Toronto’s best players, Amado Guevara – from South or Central America.
That has lead to a great deal of excitement amongst the TFC faithful about this signing. Laba plays a central midfield role and has made 72 appearances for the lower table Primera side Argentinos Juniors. He made nine appearances in the Clausura.
Do not expect him to score. He never has in his professional career and has not added an assist either. He’ll likely take minutes away from Jeremy Hall or Terry Dunfield and play a similar role.
The biggest concern will be how he adjusts to the physical nature of MLS. When Latin American players struggle in MLS it’s often because of that factor.
Laba is just 5’9”, 154 lbs.
Payne will be meeting the media later today to discuss the signing. We will update when more is known, if relevant.