By The Canadian Press

Toronto FC full of optimism ahead of flight to Spain for warm-weather training camp

Jan 19, 2026 | 1:56 PM

TORONTO — Toronto FC leaves the cold and snow of Toronto for the warmth of Spain on Tuesday, still missing a marquee attacker but with a sense of optimism going into the 2026 season.

Head coach Robin Fraser, starting his second year at the helm, has liked what he has seen to date in training camp.

“I feel like the intensity and engagement is probably the No. 1 thing that I’m encouraged by so far,” he said Monday. “Today we just played 10 vs. 10, with some specific requirements defensively, and the pace of it was unreal.

“And I said it to them afterwards … at that level of engagement that we saw here today on Day 5, 6 of training, if that’s there every day, we’ll end up where we want to. But that needs to be a constant.”

Captain Jonathan Osorio, just back from Canada’s camp in California, was also impressed by what he saw in Monday’s training under the bubble.

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“There’s a good feeling within the group,” he said. “I’ve heard that training has started off really well and the training, the level of training today, I thought was really good, and the intensity and engagement from everybody was really good. So it’s exciting.”

Toronto is on its sixth coach since it last made the playoff under Greg Vanney in 2020. While the team finished 12th in the Eastern Conference last year at 6-14-14, it improved as the season wore on under Fraser.

TFC finished the campaign with an impressive 4-2 win over visiting Orlando City and lost just one of its last 10 league outings (1-1-8).

The team is once again making Marbella its pre-season base and expects to play five or six games before returning to Toronto on Feb. 15. TFC opens the regular season Feb. 21 at FC Dallas with away games at Vancouver and FC Cincinnati to follow before the March 14 home opener against the New York Red Bulls and new coach Michael Bradley, a former TFC captain.

Additions this season are star defender Walker Zimmerman, Brazilian fullback/wingback Matheus Pereira and veteran goalkeeper William Yarbrough.

Gone are goalkeeper Sean Johnson, defenders Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta and Sigurd Rosted, midfielders Maxime Dominguez and Nathaniel Edwards and forwards Hugo Mbongue and Charlie Sharp. Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi were bought out midseason.

General manager Jason Hernandez, who will also be at camp in Spain, continues his search for an attacker with U.S. international Josh Sargent, reportedly his top target, on the outside looking in at England’s Norwich City. Sargent has been training with Norwich’s under-21 side after not making himself available for a Jan. 11 FA Cup date with League Two’s Walsall.

“I don’t want to do the same question and answer every three days,” Norwich coach Philippe Clement said ahead of Tuesday’s game with West Bromwich Albion in England’s second-tier Championship. “If there is a change, I will be first to tell everyone.”

Toronto has reportedly submitted an US$18-million offer for Sargent.

The delay in securing a striker means Toronto has just three forwards listed on its roster — Theo Corbeanu, Deandre Kerr and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint — although players like Derrick Etienne Jr. and star playmaker Djordje Mihailovic can also provide offence.

TFC tied for 27th on offence with 37 goals last season, averaging just 1.09 goals a game.

Fraser remains confident help is coming.

“We are certainly looking at a number of players,” he said. “Jason (Hernandez) and the scouting team have done a really good job of identifying a couple of different types of attacking players and making the inroads that we need to with them.

“So we feel like before it’s all said and done, we will be pretty happy with what we have up front, but certainly we’re working through a number of different players options, evaluating what styles best fit into what we want to do.”

Zimmerman will anchor a defence that steadily improved last year but has since lost some veteran components.

The 32-year-old centre back, like Fraser a two-time MLS Defender of the Year, has already impressed in camp.

“I just think he has a ton of experience and the right personality for us,” Fraser said. “I think he’s going to be very, very good for us.”

After conceding 12 goals in the first five games of the 2025 campaign, Toronto conceded 32 over the next 27 league outings and finished tied for seventh in team defence (conceding an average of 1.29 goals a game).

Luka Gavran is expected to move into the starting goalkeeper role with the departure of Johnson to D.C. United.

“I think Luka has been patient and I’m sure he’s been itching to get his chance and it’s here now,” said Osorio. “Now it’s up to him. It’s up to him to take that opportunity and to show that he can be trusted as the No. 1 at this club.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19. 2026.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press