Toronto FC signs Spanish midfielder Ager Aketxe

John Arlia

•
Toronto FC signs Spanish midfielder Ager Aketxe image

Toronto FC announced Friday that the club has signed Spanish midfielder Ager Aketxe from Athletic Bilbao.

The 24-year-old was acquired "using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) and will be added to the roster upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and his Canadian work permit," according to a team press release.

Aketxe has spent the majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao, his hometown club. He joined the academy at 10-years-old, rose through the youth ranks and was promoted to the first team at the start of the 2014 La Liga season. Aketxe made his professional debut with Bilbao in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk that September. 

The midfielder most recently spent time on loan with Cadiz CF in Spain's second division, scoring five goals in 18 appearances across all competitions.

Aketxe said that the club's interest in him helped persuade him to leave Spain, as well as the chance to get more game opportunities to show off his skillset. He also said that new teammate and fellow Spaniard Victor Vasquez has already started to help him adjust to the new team and culture.

“Ager is a talented midfielder, that developed at an historic club, in one of the top leagues in the world,” TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in the press release. “Ager has both the ability to create as well as finish. He possesses a tremendous work rate along with a great attitude. We are very excited to bring him to Toronto FC and have no doubt he will be a welcomed addition to our club.”

Aketxe will have less than a week to get up to speed, before TFC hosts the second leg of its CONCACAF Champions League round of 16 series with the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday. Toronto won the first leg 2-0 in suburban Denver earlier this week. 

The reigning MLS champions begin their league title defence March 3 against the Columbus Crew.

John Arlia