Toronto FC announce signing of Sebastian Giovinco

Sebastian Giovinco will be crossing the Atlantic Ocean in July to join Toronto FC as a Designated Player from Juventus.

Toronto confirmed the signing of the 27-year-old attacking midfielder at a press conference Monday and clarified that Giovinco will not be joining the club until July, when his contract at Juventus is expired and he's eligible to sign as a free agent in a deal that will contain no transfer fee.

Although the 5-foot-4 playmaker did not attend the press conference having featured for Juventus as a substitute in their 4-0 win over Hellas Verona on Sunday, he delivered a long-distance message to his impending club in which he expressed genuine excitement at joining Toronto.

The announcement marks Toronto's second major acquisition of the offseason following the club's unveiling of Jozy Altidore on Friday, and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko is inevitably looking forward to seeing Giovinco at BMO Field.

"Today marks a very special day for Toronto FC with the addition of Sebastian Giovinco," Bezbatchenko said. "We are very pleased to bring a fantastic player to Toronto FC for our club and for our fans, especially those in the Italian community."

As a result of the acquisition, Toronto will possess four Designated Players by July, which obviously exceeds Major League Soccer's allowed maximum of three.

While there have been suggestions that the league could increase that maximum to four, there's no reason to believe that such a change in regulations would be in effect by July, when Giovinco will officially become part of Toronto's roster. This means that Designated Player and striker Gilberto could be forced out of the club one way or another.

Giovinco has been limited to only seven Serie A appearances this season, five of which were as a substitute. However, his numbers over six seasons at Juventus are impressive having notched 20 goals and 23 assists in 130 combined appearances.