Toronto FC’s new manager Ryan Nelsen just finished playing in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, so it should not be a surprise to lean that Nelsen is tapping his UK contacts to help out TFC.
Ephraim has not started a game for QPR all season, but obviously Nelsen saw something in training to make him want to take Ephraim on a season long loan.
“Hogan is very strong technically, he has a great attitude and wants to get games under his belt,” said Nelsen.
“We’re very fortunate to have him, he is a player that can excite the crowd and I feel the fans will look forward to being able to see him in action”
In addition to Ephraim, Tottenham midfielder John Bostock and former Cardiff striker Rob Earnshaw are both expected to be arriving in Toronto soon on tryouts according to TFC president & general manager Kevin Payne.
“[Earnshaw] arrives to take a look at us and for us to take a look at him to see if that’s a fit that might work,” Payne said. “It’s a little too early to tell if that’s going to happen.”
Payne, who took over at TFC in late November, says that he is playing catch-up with the roster, and that the roster that opens the season in a few days’ time will likely look much different by April.
“There’s a lot of stuff that has to happen in a short period of time,” he said. “We have a lot of prospects on the radar right now in camp.”
There are several players not in camp as well, including two players in Honduras and another in Argentina.
“We’re working to sign potentially a young Designated Player, a forward, out of the Argentine league,” Payne said. “All of these players would be initially on loan because we’d want a chance to see them in our league before we make any long-term commitments.”
