Ranking the Top 75 MLS Players of 2024: 71. Deybi Flores

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Toronto FC brought Deybi Flores back to Canada and MLS ahead of the 2024 campaign. The experienced Honduran central midfielder has 44 caps and brings a certain fire to a team. Flores is the kind of player that goes into challenges without fear and refuses to back down from a fight. That intensity is exactly what a team needs sometimes, but for a team like Toronto with few positives during the season, it can also be a hinderance. Regardless, Flores posted elite ball-winning numbers, ranking among the league's best in midfield.

Flores found his way onto the scoresheet once for a goal and once for assist. This is of course not even remotely in his job description, but it's a fun place to start. In his first Canadian Classique, Toronto slashed Montreal 5-1. Flores assisted the eventual winner to Federico Bernardeschi with a perfectly weighted incisive pass. His goal was a header that could not have been placed any tidier into the bottom left corner from a Lorenzo Insigne corner.

It can be said with no doubt that Flores started the season much better than he finished it. In the opening month of the season, he was playing like the best holding midfielder in MLS. Throughout the spring months, he continued this run and showed quality into the summer. Leagues Cup and the closing matches of the season were much less impressive from Flores, though his flying start holds him up a spot on the list.

The defensive and distribution stats for Flores in 2024 are quite delicious. The numbers suggest that his presence in the Toronto midfield guaranteed regained possession. He ranked in the 90th percentile in tackles and winning balls in the air. He recovered just under seven balls a game and sent four accurate long balls per 90, which is no easy task. The conclusion of the season was rough for everyone involved with Toronto FC, so the benefit of the doubt can be given to Flores. After John Herdman's resignation, it remains to be seen if he will remain in the midfield in 2025. Regardless, Debyi Flores is No. 71.

71) DEYBI FLORES | M, TFC | PER 90 STATS (PERCENTILE)

1.9 TACKLES PER 90 (90%)

6.07 DUELS WON PER 90 (82%) | 1.51 AERIAL DUELS WON PER 90 (90%)

6.63 RECOVERIES PER 90 (87%) | 1.55 INTERCEPTIONS PER 90 (76%)

3.96 ACCURATE LONG BALLS PER 90 (85%) | 51.9 SUCCESSFUL PASSES PER 90 (80%)