A story about Nana and John

Here are two stories to start your day:

First, congratulate Nana Attakora for being named Canada's sub-20 player of the year. It was a down year for the program, having not qualified for the World Cup for the first time in almost a decade, but it was a hell of a season for Young Nana on the club side. Hopefully, he gets his first senior cap in the March 3 friendly the CSA is going to get (right guys...).

Now give a moment's thought to John Carver. The Angriest Man in MLS, circa 2008, has landed as an assistant at Plymouth. He joins Paul Mariner there to form Team MLS in the (for now) Championship. Anyone what to bet against Chris Cummins ending up there in some capacity soon?

With Carver now back employed in the second tier of England, working with a manager with a base of knowledge of MLS, you might think that some of those bargain players in MLS might get targeted in January.

Nana makes £405 a week (supplemented by Canadian Olympic funding at about the same amount). A big, strong and athletic centreback with great upside seems like about a perfect fit for a Championship team, don't you think? Especially if the coaching staff at that team are aware of the kid. Especially, especially if one of the kid's early career influences ends up there.

This is speculation, but something for TFC fans to think about. Even with an estimated $500,000 coming of the cap for Toronto, you don't want to be chasing two defenders this offseason. Trying to find one, which everyone understands they need, is going to be hard enough.

You might want to think about giving Young Nana a bit of a raise.