CSN has confirmed that Canadian international Nik Ledgerwood is one of the players TFC targeted during this Fall's scouting trip in Scandinavia.
Ledgerwood has a year left on his contract at Hammarby IF in the second tier of Swedish football. He was brought in last year in an effort to get the down-on-its-luck club back to the top flight. That effort ultimately fell short and with Hammarby facing another season in the second tier Ledgerwood might be available.
He had previously indicated that he was looking to return to North America, telling reporters that he had some MLS interest last summer, but that a deal could not be worked out.
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It still might not work out. Those close to the situation stressed that the transfer was far from being a sure thing. Hammarby would require a transfer and TFC is said to be in negotiation with the Swedish club about the value.
Hammarby is said to want €300,000, but TFC is not prepared to shell out that much. It's expected that the Reds are offering about half of that.
Ledgerwood is said to make about $60-70,000 a season in Sweden, but he also receives a housing allowance. The Reds would need to match that salary to bring him on board. You could expect him to come for around $100,000 a year.
It's possible that the hold up in the expected player for allocation trade with Portland is at least partly to do with TFC negotiating with Ledgerwood and/or Hammarby.
For Canada, Ledgerwood has typically played at full-back. However, he's been used more in the midfield in Sweden, at times playing centrally. It's expected that TFC is looking at him to play a wide midfield role.
Again, it's important to stress that this is far from a done deal and that it's, at best, 50/50 that the deal will go through.
Regardless, enjoy this highlight of one of Ledgerwood's two goals in Sweden this past season:
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