Soccer by Ives reported earlier today that the Portland Timbers had either acquired the No 1 allocation slot from TFC as part of the trade yesterday, or had an agreement in place to ensure that Toronto passes on its next selection chance. Ives went on to suggest that Portland was planning to use the No 1 selection to sign US international Mix Diskerud.
In an e-mail to CSN, TFC denied having traded the spot to Portland.
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The allocation order is used to sign US internationals that move to MLS or former MLS players that return to the league after being previously purchased away with a transfer fee.
Holding the No 1 position, as TFC does, is an important asset.
Portland may still be able to get Diskerud, despite Toronto maintaining the top spot. However, the Reds wil have first shot at signing the player. They may chose to do so to obtain additional asests from the Timbers.
However, TFC could also chose to bypass putting a claim on Diskerud. They may do so because of a handshake agreement with the Timbers, or because they don't believe they can obtain enough value from selecting the player to justify losing the No 1 slot.