Toronto FC announced Monday that the club has signed academy midfielder Christopher Mannella as a Homegrown player.
He is the 10th player in club history to sign a Homegrown deal with the first team. As per team and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are pleased with Christopher’s development over the past five years in our Academy, and he deserves this after proving himself while training with the first team starting back in preseason, as well as with our affiliate Wilmington Hammerheads during the season,” Toronto general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “He is a versatile player with great character who has the potential to do great things with the club. We want to thank our Academy staff for their contributions to Christopher’s development as a soccer player.”
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Mannella, 20, was previously named captain of the KIA Toronto FC Senior Academy Team. He appeared in 11 matches, scoring two goals and logging 945 minutes this year in the inaugural League 1 Ontario season. Mannella originally joined the Toronto FC academy in 2009 at the age of 15.
