Veteran defender Walker Zimmerman says he has come to Toronto FC to chase trophies

TORONTO — Walker Zimmerman recalls how his wife put up balloons to celebrate him winning his first MLS Defender of the Year Award in 2020.

“I couldn’t even enjoy it, because I said ‘I just want to win it again,'” Zimmerman said. “And I was able to do that the next season … That’s what drives me, to try and do things again and not be content with what I’ve accomplished so far but what can we keep doing? What’s the next challenge to check off?”

In joining Toronto FC as a free agent, the veteran centre back’s goal is simple — “Chasing trophies with my teammates.”

Zimmerman, who has spent 13 years in Major League Soccer with FC Dallas, Los Angeles FC and most recently Nashville SC, has had success hunting hardware.

The 32-year-old U.S. international helped Dallas to the Supporters’ Shield and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title in 2016, LAFC to the Supporters’ Shield in 2019 and captained Nashville to the U.S. Open Cup last year. Along the way, he became a five-time MLS Best XI honouree and four-time MLS all-star in addition to his top defender honours.

The native of Lawrenceville, Ga., has also won 45 caps for the United States and served as American captain.

While Zimmerman’s signing with Toronto was announced Jan. 2, he was not officially introduced until Monday.

Toronto general manager Jason Hernandez called Zimmerman’s arrival a “massive, massive day.”

Zimmerman said TFC was the first team to reach out to him, prompting a “deep dive” on the franchise. The six-foot-three defender, who will wear his accustomed No. 25 with the club, liked what he saw.

“I wanted a club that has ambition and they checked that box,” he said. “I wanted to play under a coaching staff that cared a lot about character, as well as moving a team forward on the field. And so when you look at how Toronto finished their season last year, it’s an upward trajectory.”

“There’s a lot of new pieces coming in, a lot of exciting things coming into the team,” he added.

Norwich City forward Josh Sargent is the latest marquee attacker linked to Toronto, with reports that TFC has submitted an $18-million bid (all figures in U.S. dollars) for the 25-year-old U.S. international. Norwich coach Philippe Clement said Sargent made himself unavailable for Sunday’s 5-1 win over League Two side Walsall in FA Cup third-round play “because of transfer things in his head.”

Norwich is currently languishing near the bottom of England’s second-tier Championship.

Hernandez was circumspect about the search for a star forward.

“We’ve had several meaningful conversations with different targets, and so we’re hopeful that we can continue to do the work and certainly land on someone prior to Matchday 1.”

Toronto, which is set to leave Jan. 20 for Spain where it will spend the bulk of its pre-season, opens the 2026 regular season on Feb. 21 at FC Dallas.

Zimmerman who had to deal with both a concussion and knee injury in 2025, made a point of mentioning that he was taken by surprise that Nashville was looking to move on from him after the season. He said he told Hernandez and coach Robin Fraser they were getting a motivated player “because I’m at my best when I have a chip on my shoulder.”

Fraser, a former two-time MLS Defender of the Year himself, cited Zimmerman’s leadership, character and desire to mentor young players.

“These are all things that you’d think might be easy to find, but they’re not … To find actual leaders, I think, is very difficult to do. And I think we’ve found not just a good leader but a great leader.”

With Toronto shedding veteran defenders Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta and Sigurd Rosted, experience was needed in the backline alongside 19-year-old Lazar Stefanovic, 22-year-old Zane Monlouis and 23-year-old Nicksoen Gomis.

Hernandez said how that young talent performs in training camp will determine if more defensive help is needed.

Zimmerman’s signing follows Toronto’s acquisition of Brazilian left back Matheus Pereira from Portuguese side CD Santa Clara. Veteran goalkeeper William Yarbrough, a free agent who spent last season with Inter Miami, is expected to join TFC as backup to Luka Gavran, who is set to take over as the No. 1 after the departure of Sean Johnson to D.C. United.

Toronto (6-14-14) finished out of the playoffs for the fifth straight season in 2025. But it improved as the season wore on, finishing with just one loss in its last 10 outings (1-1-8)

Zimmerman made $3,456,979 as a designated player last season, according to the MLS Players Association.

Zimmerman will not be a DP with Toronto, which instead used targeted allocation money to sign him. TAM can be used to buy down the salary cap hit of a player whose salary is above the maximum salary budget charge, which was $743,750 in 2025.

In other news, Toronto has sold Ythallo Rodrigues de Oliveira to Brazil’s Botafogo FR.

The 21-year-old Brazilian defender joined Toronto FC II in March 12024, making 50 appearances for the reserve side across the 2024 and ’25 MLS Next Pro seasons.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2026.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press