Sad to see Akinola leave TFC

Deep in the recesses of the BMO training ground, there are presumably members of the Toronto FC staff wondering what could have been for Ayo Akinola.

- JAMES SHARMAN

The fact that it didn't work out, as the two sides mutually parted ways this week, is a damn shame.

Akinola is a local boy, discovered through the Brampton soccer factory that has seen the likes of Atiba Hutchinson, Cyle Larin and TFC captain Jonathan Osorio emerge in recent times. He cut his teeth in the TFC Academy, enjoyed a MLS breakout in 2020 in the COVID bubble when he shared the team lead with nine goals, and promised so much.

How painful it must have been for coach John Herdman, who was the man who rewarded Akinola with his first Canada cap in 2021, to finally give up on the player.

It is a ruthless sport, and in a league where every dollar on the cap counts, patience can wear thin quickly.

Survive or die; those are the options for most professional footballers, especially the young ones.

In Akinola's case, it was an ACL injury while on Canada duty in 2021 that derailed his career. He was never able to rediscover the form that made him as close to a surething prospect that TFC had seen in a long time.