Julian De Guzman will be a Hoop.
Courtney James, Julian's agent, confirmed to CSN via text message this morning that the Canadian international had been traded to FC Dallas.
"Julian has been traded to FC Dallas," James said. "For what? Honestly, I'm not sure yet."
He declined to comment when asked if Julian was happy about the deal.
____
Update: 10:18 am - MLSsoccer.com is reporting that the trade is for FC Dallas midfielder Andrew Wiedeman. He makes $80,000 as a base salary. $123,000 guaranteed. He is on a generation adidas contract and will not count against the cap this season.
Update: 10:32 am - Toronto FC releases official statement. It includes this quote from Paul Mariner:
"Losing someone like Julian is never easy but this deal gives us increased flexibility to address areas where we have more pressing needs and opens up a designated player spot for our club,” said Toronto FC Head Coach and Director of Soccer Operations, Paul Mariner. “On behalf of everyone at Toronto FC, I’d like to thank Julian for his contributions to the club and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Emphasis is ours
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]___
Speculation was rife last night as the news began to leak out that there might be a deal in place to send Toronto's first ever designated player to the land of bouncey castles and 8,000 attendances. But there was no indication as of this morning what Toronto was getting back and if the move was a precursor to an international transfer.
An informed FC Dallas observer told CSN last night before the deal was confirmed that it was likely that Toronto was going to eat at least part of Julian's salary. Dallas, the source told CSN, has only $150-$200K available under their salary cap.
The source also suggested if a player was coming back in the deal, given Toronto's defensive needs, that George John was a possibility. John has been out since May 26 with a concussion but is believed to be returning to play soon.
In terms of international targets, that may become a focus now that Toronto has freed up salary and a designated player slot, CSN has learned that Alessandro Del Piero and Carlos Bocanegra's representatives have had preliminary talks with Toronto FC. Canadian international Kevin McKenna's name has also been discussed a great deal but there is no indication a deal was being discussed with the big centreback.
CSN will update this story throughout the day as it develops.
What are your thoughts though? Happy to see him go? Or did he never get a fair shake in Toronto?