By Canadian Press

Toronto FC signs Canadian international forward Tosaint Ricketts

Jul 20, 2016 | 10:45 AM

Toronto FC added some depth at forward on Wednesday by signing Canadian international Tosaint Ricketts.

The move was expected given the 28-year-old from Edmonton has been training with the MLS team since late May. But Toronto had to secure his international transfer certificate and GM Tim Bezbatchenko had to do some work on the club’s salary cap to open up space for Ricketts even though he is not seen as a big-ticket addition. 

That process started last week with the club parting ways with French defender Damien Perquis, whose 2016 salary was listed at US$427,500 by the MLS Players Union.

Toronto got partial salary cap relief on Perquis, getting a pro-rated amount back minus the club’s settlement with the player.

Bezbatchenko then designated Canadian midfielder Chris Mannella as the club’s yearlong loanee to its USL affiliate, effectively taking his senior team minimum salary of $63,000 off the MLS roster’s books.

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That move explains why Mannella, while healthy, was not used to help fill out Toronto’s injury-depleted five-man bench in Columbus last week. If he had figured in the game-day roster, he would not have been eligible to be designated as the USL loanee.

Ricketts has 12 goals in 50 appearances for Canada. At the club level, he most recently played for Boluspor Kulubu in Turkey.

He has also played for teams in Finland, Israel, Norway and Romania.

“I want to thank the whole TFC organization for being patient and working through the obstacles to make this happen,” Ricketts said via social media. “I’m excited to start this new chapter with TFC, in the country that I love.”

Ricketts’ addition brought Toronto’s roster to 26 players. He is the eighth Canadian, joining Mo Babouli, Jay Chapman, Jordan Hamilton, Will Johnson, Ashtone Morgan, Jonathan Osorio and Mannella.

Ricketts, who has speed and gives coach Greg Vanney some options on the flank, could make his debut Saturday when Toronto (6-7-6) hosts D.C. United (5-7-7).

Also Wednesday, Toronto picked the Perquis carcass a little more by shipping an international roster spot to the Montreal Impact in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. The deal leaves Toronto with two unused international roster spots.

In 2016, a total of 160 international roster spots were divided among the 20 clubs.

Under the league’s complicated salary rules, a club can have an active roster of up to 28 players. But the salary budget of $3.66 million can be spread across just 18 to 20 players. Teams can also use so-called allocation money to pay down a player’s salary cost against the cap.

Toronto is spreading its salary budget across 18 players. When Perquis left, another player had to be inserted in his place — which was Mannella, at least briefly.

The salaries of players on the supplemental roster (spots 21-24) and reserve roster (spots 25-28) do not count toward a club’s salary budget providing they meet certain requirements.

The maximum budget count for one player is $457,500, explaining how Toronto can pay designated players Sebastian Giovinco ($7.116 million), Michael Bradley ($6.5 million) and Jozy Altidore ($4.625 million). 

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press