TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Trade
- TOR receive: Brandon Servania
- DAL receive: Jesús Jiménez, 2023 international roster spot
FC Dallas and Toronto FC have completed a player-swap trade five days before the 2023 MLS season begins, the clubs announced Monday.
Homegrown midfielder Brandon Servania has gone from FC Dallas to Toronto FC, with striker Jesús Jiménez and a 2023 international roster spot going in the other direction. Toronto FC will retain a portion of Jiménez’s salary budget charge.
For Toronto, Servania adds crucial midfield depth behind the club’s first-choice trio of Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio and Mark-Anthony Kaye. The 23-year-old, who has one US men’s national team appearance, has four goals and seven assists across 67 regular-season appearances (43 starts).
Servania joins Toronto after they transferred homegrown midfielder Jayden Nelson to Norwegian top-flight side Rosenborg BK earlier this month. The Reds brought back veteran midfielder Víctor Vázquez this offseason, too.
“Brandon is a smart, young footballer who will add to the quality of our group,” Toronto head coach and sporting director Bob Bradley said in a release.
“Brandon has an eye for combining in the midfield and playing forward quickly while providing hard running from box to box. I’d also like to thank Jesús for his contributions and wish him well with his new club.”
Jiménez, 29, posted nine goals and three assists in 33 regular-season games (27 starts) with Toronto last year. The Spanish forward joined in February 2022 after playing for Polish side Górnik Zabrze.
Jiménez arrives in Dallas after the club reached a mutual contract termination with then-Designated Player Franco Jara in January. He’ll supplement USMNT standout Jesús Ferreira, who’s coming off a Best XI campaign, and Colombian youngster José Mulato, who spent last year with MLS NEXT Pro affiliate North Texas SC.
“We’re excited to bring Jesús Jiménez to the group,” FC Dallas technical director André Zanotta said in a release.
“We wanted to bring another attacking option face to the roster. Jesús is an experienced player with a proven goal-scoring record in the league. We felt like Jiménez would complement our group really well.”
As Jiménez departs, Toronto have veteran Adama Diomande and homegrown Ayo Akinola as their leading options up top. Meanwhile, Dallas maintain first-choice midfielders like Paxton Pomykal and Sebastian Lletget.
Both clubs are entering their second years under new coaches; Toronto placed 13th in the Eastern Conference during Bradley's first year at the helm, while Dallas earned the Western Conference's No. 3 seed and made a semifinal run in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
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