Toronto FC trade Lukas MacNaughton for C.J. Sapong, add defender Aime Mabika

Toronto FC announced Tuesday the club has acquired experienced MLS forward C.J. Sapong in exchange for defensive reinforcement Lukas MacNaughton and up to $200,000 in General Allocation Monday from Nashville SC, as well as acquiring defender Aimé Mabika from Inter Miami in exchange for more allocation funds.

Sapong, 34, and Mabika, 24, join the Reds ahead of Monday's close of the primary transfer window.

It's the trade for Sapong that will grab more headlines. In 350 regular-season games with Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Sporting Kansas City, Sapong has 88 goals and 34 assists, giving the Reds some more potential firepower up top.

Bob Bradley, head coach and sporting director of Toronto FC, noted that C.J. has a lengthy history of scoring goals in the Major League Soccer: "Some of the important qualities we look forward to seeing from him here at TFC are his work rate, mentality, and ability to impose himself on opponents in front of the goal," he said.

TFC traded $125,000 in general allocation money (GAM) for the year 2024 and an additional $75,000 in conditional GAM for the year 2025 if Sapong satisfies specific performance standards.

The acquisition of Mabika through 2023 with options for 2024 and 2025 fills in MacNaughton's vacant centre-back position, with Toronto FC also giving Miami a sell-on percentage in addition to $100,000 in 2024 GAM, $100,000 in conditional GAM, and $100,000 in GAM if performance-based benchmarks are fulfilled.

Miami initially took Mabika in the first round (26th overall) in the MLS SuperDraft in 2021. In USL League One, he played for Inter Miami CF II (formerly Fort Lauderdale CF) in 2021. In January, Mabika agreed to a first-team contract with Miami, where he spent his debut MLS season and made 18 appearances in all competitions.