Phoenix Rising FC has acquired 22-year-old Spanish midfielder Jon Bakero on loan from Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC.
Bakero was drafted by the Chicago Fire fifth overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, and last July he was traded to Toronto FC. Prior to the MLS, Bakero played his collegiate soccer at Wake Forest, and in 2017 was awarded the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top college soccer player in the country.
“Jon’s a very exciting player,” Phoenix Rising FC Head Coach Rick Schantz said. “Technically he’s very, very good, reads the game extremely well.”
Coach Schantz is familiar with Bakero, having coached him while at FC Tucson in 2016.
“I think Jon is going to be one of those keys to unlock a defense,” Schantz said. “You partner that with Adam [Jahn], Solo, José [Aguinaga], Devin Vega, Jason [Johnson], and Junior [Flemmings] – It’s a pretty formidable offense.”
