TFC Offseason Rankings: Clement Simonin

We ranked 24 TFC players this offseason, and came up with a list of the best 24 Reds in 2015. Clement Simonin kicks off our list at number 24, and it has been a difficult season for the first round draft pick.

There’s not a lot to talk about regarding Simonin. He only appeared in one match this season, and it was the match that the Reds had only four players on the bench and were missing the likes of Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco.

Simonin played 81 minutes that match, recorded the second most interceptions, and according to whoscored.com, had the fifth best rating out of all TFC players.

That would be Simonin’s only TFC appearance, as he was injured for most of the season and was mostly used as a bench player or part of the practice squad. He did play three games for TFC II in the USL, recording one assist in 165 minutes.

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TFC was probably hoping of more from there ninth overall pick in the 2015 MLS Draft, however not many people were even expecting the Reds to draft the Frenchman so early.Many teams didn’t have Simonin on their shortlist, some didn’t even know who he was.

The 24 year-old spent time in his native France, playing for clubs like Lorient B and US Concarneau. He then moved to the United States in 2011 and was part of the Seattle Sounders U-23 team in 2014.

Simonin started his U.S soccer career at NCAA Division II team Lander University, where he recorded two goals and three assists in 32 career games. He was named two time NSCAA All-Southeast Region and All-Peach Belt Conference team performer.

Simonin then moved to Division I Indiana University in 2013. He started his new campaign in Indiana with a bang, scoring four goals and started all 17 games. His senior year, wasn’t his best. He only played in seven games after going down with an injury.

This season was far from what Simonin could’ve expected, but at least he got valuable time with the first team in practice and made one start for the Reds. Next year will be a different one, and hopefully much better. Simonin will most likely be heading down to Toronto FC II if the first team can find more valuable options at the centre back position. Playing at the USL level will be very important for Simonin, and if he can thrive in that enviornment, then a callup to the first team will be in his futures.