TORONTO – Could Brek Shea be Toronto FC’s next signing? Perhaps not.
Following TFC’s trade for Collen Warner on Friday, rumors of Shea began to spread once again, but Shea’s agent, Spencer Wadsworth of Wasserman Media Group, told MLSsoccer.com that even though the two parties did in fact speak, a deal couldn’t be struck at the time.
“Yeah, that was a long time ago, though,” Wadsworth said when asked if Toronto FC had contacted Stoke for Shea’s services. “There was a discussion going on but that was a couple months ago and it just didn’t work out. We couldn’t come to terms. There was interest from all parties but it just didn’t work out at the end of it.”
Though the time line is fuzzy, it seems Toronto FC expressed interest when the rumors of a potential return to MLS began swirling in early April.
“Right when all those rumours started, there was contact,” Wadsworth said. “We couldn’t come to terms and that’s pretty much it. It didn’t work out and all parties were really interested, it just didn’t work out.”
“Right now, Brek is due back at Stoke City for preseason on July 9,” Wadsworth added. “A lot could happen, but it’s not like a closed door completely. It wasn’t a bad fallout. It just didn’t work out. Right now, Brek is focused on being with Stoke.”
Toronto FC currently sit in the top position in the allocation order for returning US national teamers, but that doesn’t mean the former FC Dallas player would have to limit himself to TFC should MLS interest heat up. General manager Tim Bezbatchenko could orchestrate a trade for the spot, and Shea has plenty of suitors interested, according to Wadsworth.
“There’s multiple teams in MLS that are interested in Brek,” Wadsworth said. “He appreciates Major League Soccer. Right now he’s focused on Stoke and getting into that team. He wants to prove himself in the Premier League.”
Ryan Nelsen was asked about the player in training on Friday, and said Shea is “not my player, so I can’t really talk about other teams’ players,” but added, “Every team in the MLS would like a player like Brek.”
When contacted by MLSsoccer.com for comment, Toronto FC responded with the following statement: "Being that we currently hold the No. 1 allocation ranking, we are always looking at players that may return to the league. However, there have been no recent discussions regarding Brek Shea."
