defoe debuted with toronto in their season opener at seattle sounders on 15 march 2014, scoring both goals in their 2–1 victory. on 31 august 2014, toronto fc called a press conference to fire manager nelsen; during the press conference, the general manager tim bezbatchenko was non-committal on defoe's future at the club, implying that the player might be unsettled and that the club would entertain offers in excess of the £6 million paid for the striker. he said, "we're speaking with him [defoe] and then we'll make a decision. we'll discuss it over the next 24 hours."