Report: Toronto FC front-runner for Jozy Altidore due to allocation rankings

Toronto FC's bloody big deal from a year ago ended up being a bloody, big deal, but that experience won't stop the club from looking to sign another well-known striker this winter.

Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC is reporting that the Canadian club has the inside track on the signing of Sunderland forward Jozy Altidore, who is looking to leave the Premier League and return to North America.

Both Toronto and the Portland Timbers have expressed a willingness to meet Altidore's salary demands - said to be between $5 and $6 million per season - but TFC's higher allocation ranking has them in pole position.

Carlisle explains:

Toronto has a higher ranking (seventh) than Portland (ninth), and while it's possible that the Timbers could work out a trade with one of the teams above them to leapfrog Toronto, at present, TFC has the inside track ...

The allocation ranking has been the primary mechanism by which U.S. internationals coming into MLS were allocated. The ranking was also used for foreign players returning to the league after playing abroad. Every year, the allocation ranking is constructed in inverse order of league finish.

Ahead of this season, for example, expansion sides New York City FC and Orlando City were placed atop the allocation rankings.

Following last season's debacle involving Jermaine Jones' return - when the league decided that a player of his salary threshold was not subject to the allocation rankings - MLS came under intense criticism for its lack of consistency regarding the process. Jones ultimately ended up with the New England Revolution, who outbid the Chicago Fire in a blind draw.

Carlisle reports that the league has decided to revert back to the allocation rankings, regardless of the player's salary demands, which has left Toronto as the front-runner in the race to sign Altidore.

In order for the club to complete the deal, however, they will need to unload one of their three Designated Players - the league maximum. All signs, and multiple reports, suggest that man will be Jermain Defoe, who has been linked heavily with a return to the Premier League this month.