Tyrese Spicer considers his first season in MLS with Toronto FC a success after being selected as the number one pick in the MLS SuperDraft last year.
But he’s got his eyes on bigger and better things, both in Toronto in 2025 and elsewhere in the future.
“First, I got a job to do in Toronto,” Spicer told Trinidadian media outlet TTT Sport this week. “Hopefully, the sky’s the limit and hopefully, I go to Europe soon.”
Spicer certainly doesn’t seem short of confidence. It was evident in his game at times in 2024 as he rarely looked overawed despite having just made the step up from college soccer to Major League Soccer. Being a college star and the first-overall pick in the draft will do that for your mindset.
“I could come in there and have a big impact in Toronto with [Federico] Bernardeschi and [Lorenzo] Insigne and help them build and develop my career,” Spicer told MLS broadcaster and former CanWNT star Kaylyn Kyle just minutes after being drafted in December 2023. “I think the sky’s the limit for me, honestly. This is a big jump but I back myself 100 percent.”
That was big talk from a new draftee. But while calling his impact in 2024 explosive would be over-selling it, his debut year was certainly promising.
The 24-year-old played in more than half of TFC’s league games in his first campaign by the lake, making 19 MLS appearances and contributing two goals and an assist, as well as another goal in the Canadian Championship. The first of those strikes was a neat finish on his very first MLS start.
Spicer would surely have played much more had a troublesome back injury not ruled him out of 14 games in all competitions between early June and late August.
He quickly earned the trust of John Herdman, under whom Spicer said he believed he could become “the next Alphonso Davies.” The Englishman called the Trinidadian “a joy to coach,” a player with “massive confidence [and] unshakeable belief in himself.”
Herdman, of course, is gone and Spicer will be continuing his development in Toronto under a new, yet-to-be-determined manager. But regardless of who’s in charge, Spicer is certain his sophomore season at TFC will be better than his freshman year in MLS.
“Toronto FC is a good club, it’s a very massive club in MLS,” he told TTT Sport. “I think my first season was really good and I can strive for bigger and better things.”
Spicer was speaking to media while visiting his first youth club, Trincity Nationals, spending time with his old coaches and the current crop of academy players. Herdman had previously noted that the winger carries his “real humble beginnings” with him today, and his journey from Trincity youth soccer to MLS via starring at college level with Lipscomb University is a testament to both his talent and his character.
“It was always a struggle at first,” Spicer recalled. “Not having the right equipment, not having cleats. But as I get older, things started to get better and I started to flourish and get more talented. Coaches like this and my father as well trust me and that ended up giving me that self-belief.
“I think by the time I went to America, I was good and I had that support behind me. I was there to represent Trinidad and Tobago as well and myself and my family’s name.”
Barring any unforeseen movement, he’ll continue to do so in Toronto colours in 2025. But Tyrese Spicer is an ambitious guy. The next step is staying fit and stepping up for TFC. Beyond that, it’s Europe on his agenda.
SOURCE: wakingthered.com