Daniel Salloi is thriving in Toronto and Sporting KC can feel it

With Sporting KC struggling to score in their opening five games of the 2026 MLS season—just five goals—it’s hard not to look north of the border at Toronto FC. The Reds signed Daniel Salloi for $300,000 days before kickoff, with the deal rising to $1 million based on performance.

Salloi had been excellent for Sporting KC during preseason, scoring and creating alongside Dejan Joveljic in a second-striker role. Raphael Wicky deployed a 4-4-2 formation that appeared to suit both the player and the squad. Then, just before matchday No. 1 in San Jose, that plan—and the personnel built around it—was effectively torn up.

From a roster-building perspective, the sale made sense. Salloi wasn’t going to re-sign, and after years of watching assets walk for free under the Peter Vermes regime, sporting director David Lee finally extracted value from players. Turning an expiring contract into up to $1 million is good business in any football league.

What works on a spreadsheet can unravel on the field, and that’s where this move starts to look more complicated.

Sporting KC haven’t replaced Salloi. Not yet. The attack lacks a consistent wide threat, and while Capita is expected to arrive after the international break and could feature on matchday No. 6, that doesn’t change the reality of the opening month. Kansas City moved on from a proven MLS attacker without a ready-made replacement, and the results reflect it. Keep in mind, this season is a re-build. 

Players are going to come into the club slowly, with the summer the likeliest team more quality becomes available. Contracts will expire at the end of the European football season through the leagues that play autumn to spring. Further players will be looking for a new challenge.

Meanwhile, Toronto moved quickly, not just to sign Salloi, but to secure him long-term. The club announced his extension on March 17, ensuring he wouldn’t arrive on an expiring deal.

“We are happy to formally announce the extension of Daniel at this time,” general manager Jason Hernandez said. 

“Prior to joining our club, we discussed with Daniel both our intentions regarding his role in our project and a revised contractual commitment. It was our belief that Daniel should not arrive at TFC on an expiring contract; therefore, we aligned on terms for his extension before he joined us in February.”

On the field, Salloi has delivered. He has appeared in all five of Toronto’s games, scoring twice and adding an assist. He’s already matched his 2024 goal tally for Sporting KC and leads Toronto in scoring. Those contributions have helped the club take seven points from 15 and sit seventh in the Eastern Conference.

It’s a small sample size, but the contrast is unavoidable. Those goals and that assist would look very different in Kansas City right now. They could easily be the difference between wins and losses.

The sale was correct financially, but it has exposed familiar issues in squad construction and attacking depth. The club still has talent. Calvin Harris remains a strong, underrated and underappreciated winger, and Shapi has suddenly emerged as an all-around option. There is hope that Capita can add goals and creativity when available.

But for now, Salloi is producing elsewhere, and Sporting KC are still searching for the output they let go. It’s painful, but as always in football, there is hope.