South Africa international forward Cassius Mailula will return to FC Toronto after a proposed loan move to MC Alger fell through.
Mailula, 24, spent last season on loan at Wydad Athletic Club, being lured to Morocco by his former Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena, who handed him his professional breakthrough in South Africa.
Under Mokwena, he netted 15 goals and four assists in 31 games which led to a €1.5-million transfer to the Major League Soccer (MLS) side, but he never quite established himself in the squad ahead of Italy forwards Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi – who have both since left the club.
His time at Wydad saw him score six goals with seven assists in 36 games and despite Mokwena trying to lure him at his new club, the Algerian Ligue 1 champions – he’s now poised to return to Canada.
“Cassius and his [agent] were entertaining a couple of different opportunities,” Toronto GM Jason Hernandez said, as per TFC Republic.
“At the end of the day, [there was] nothing that spoke to them in a way that they wanted to secure full-time. And on our side, certainly [there was] nothing that we received [that] we felt strongly enough about needing to put the pedal to the floor.
“So, the player actually is on his way back to rejoin the team, and he’ll continue on with us and reintegrate.”
Mailula played eight times for the club, with two goals and one assist and will now be aiming to get back to his best form that earned him the lucrative move to the MLS.
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