With just a week remaining in the Secondary Transfer Window, the San Jose Earthquakes finally made a move to strengthen their team—acquiring forward Ayo Akinola on loan from Toronto FC in exchange for an international roster spot.
The 23 year old Canadian international will occupy a U22 Initiative roster spot through the end of the season, and San Jose has the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the loan.
Akinola joins an Earthquakes team that finds itself in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture in MLS, currently level on points for the fifth seed with Austin FC. Although he has made most of his appearances for Toronto playing as a central forward, Akinola can slot in anywhere across the front line.
“Ayo is a dynamic attacker with the strength, pace and finishing ability to impact any match,” said Earthquakes General Manager Chris Leitch. “On top of that, he’s just a quality person. He knows MLS inside and out, and we felt like a change of perspective from Toronto would do him a lot of good.”
Before the trade, head coach Luchi Gonzalez had been reaching deep into his bench in lieu of first-team quality depth. With Cade Cowell out for international duty and Jamiro Monteiro out injured for nearly a month, draft prospect Jack Skahan was called upon to deputize at multiple positions. The Quakes even had to get creative with their formations in some games to make up for the lack of numbers.
Rising up through the ranks of Toronto FC’s academy, Akinola’s professional career took off during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season where he scored 9 goals across 15 games. In 2022, he appeared in a career-high 26 games, with 14 starts.
But this season—where Toronto is currently tied for the second worst record in the league—Akinola’s campaign has been mired by injuries and a lack of playing time, stunting that progress. Suddenly, he found himself on the outside of the first team looking in.
Near the end of last season, the Toronto brass pivoted to a star-heavy approach, signing Italian superstars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, then trading for CJ Sapong, taking up all of the available forward minutes.
“San Jose’s coaching staff and GM have made me feel wanted,” Akinola said.
Akinola’s loan continues a trend of similar transactions made by the MLS veteran Leitch, who took over as GM in 2021. Since then, he has pivoted away from the recruitment preferences of Jesse Fioranelli and former coach Matias Almeyda, opting instead to bring in a stable of tried-and-true MLS contributors like Jeremy Ebobisse, Jamiro Monteiro, Jonathan Mensah, and Carlos Gruezo.
“Look, I’ve been traded as a player before,” Leitch told Soccer Bay Area. “Sometimes it’s what you need to kick things off again—a fresh opportunity, a different structure. We feel like we can bring out different parts of his game and optimize his characteristics.”
Ahead of their much anticipated Leagues Cup game against Liga MX’s Tigres this weekend, the Quakes also managed to sign their star playmaker Cristian Espinoza to a new deal. The first-time MLS All Star signed an extension that will keep him as a Designated Player through the 2025 season with an option for 2026.
The Argentine, now in his fifth season with the Quakes, is enjoying the best season of his professional career, even surpassing Shea Salinas for the club’s all-time assist record.
“Cristian is a player that had other options and opportunities, but he saw the next chapter in his career with us,” Leitch said. “He’s not done, and he wants to push to even higher levels, and I think you can see in his career that every year he continues to get a little better. He hasn’t reached his peak yet, and we have high hopes for him.”
About the Author:Kevin V. Nguyen has covered soccer for The Guardian, The Sacramento Bee, and The San Francisco Standard. Follow him on Twitter @KevinNguyen_89
