USMNT star Josh Sargent and Toronto FC gamble on each other for 2026

From there, though, things collapsed. Key departures, poor investments and the rise of its Eastern Conference peers saw Toronto plummet to the bottom of the league. Expensive signings like Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi flopped and talented young academy players like Jayden Nelson and Ralph Priso left for greener pastures. Saddled with expensive under-performers and left without a pipeline of players to replace them, Toronto entered the 2025 season as a team adrift. It took intensive, clever maneuvers from new coach Robin Fraser to restructure the team and free up space for a game-changing statement signing.

Sargent, it seems, is that statement. But big-money transfers like him have a funny way of failing in MLS's Eastern Conference. 

Atlanta United's Emmanuel Latte Lath serves as a cautionary tale for Toronto. He joined MLS in 2025 from the same league as Sargent, on the same fee as Sargent's and with similar goalscoring stats from his previous competitive season. He wasn't able to translate his past into his MLS future, and he finished the 2025 season with just seven goals to his name: a woeful tally for one of the league's biggest-ever signings.

If Sargent struggles like Latte Lath did, then Toronto's statement signing will wind up saying entirely the wrong thing.

Sargent's gamble

Sargent joins Toronto in an unenviable position. He's one of the USMNT's most recognizable players—he started for the team at the 2022 World Cup—but he hasn't scored a U.S. goal since 2019.

Sargent made just two appearances for coach Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT in 2025 and failed to impress in either of them. He enters 2026 firmly outside of the team's World Cup picture and needs a strong showing with Toronto to flip that script.

It's far from a done deal. Goalkeeper Matt Turner made a similar gamble in 2025 when he joined the New England Revolution but failed to recapture is spot on the USMNT. In fact, Turner's MLS move did more for the league than it did for him: his struggle to adapt to its challenges showed that MLS had developed beyond him in his absence. Sargent's return may be similarly harsh.

A lot at stake

If Toronto and Sargent are successful together, the sky is the limit for both parties: Toronto could reclaim its trophy-winning form and Sargent could reclaim his spot with the national team at the World Cup.

If they are not successful, though, they'll maintain their status quo—and as their peers continue to excel, that will see them both drift further and further away from competitiveness.

Toronto will return to MLS action on Saturday, Feb. 28 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.