Bafana Bafana forward Cassius Mailula makes surprise Toronto FC return despite successful Wydad Casablanca loan spell and confirmed overseas offers

Cassius Mailula was loaned out to Wydad Casablanca last season after struggling for regular football at Toronto FC.

But he revitalised himself at the Morocco giants and is now back at the Major Soccer League side.

Toronto FC have confirmed there was interest in Mailula from other clubs for a permanent move but nothing concrete came up.

"Cassius and his [agent] were entertaining a couple of different opportunities," said Toronto FC general manager Jason Hernandes.

"At the end of the day [there was] nothing that spoke to them in a way that they wanted to secure full time.

"And on our side, certainly [there was] nothing that we received [that] we felt strongly enough about needing to put the pedal on the floor.

"So, the player actually is on his way back to rejoin the team and he'll continue on with us and reintegrate."

Following a successful loan spell at Wydad, Mailula appeared to be on his way out of the MLS club after his agent confirmed three overseas offers for the player.

This was also after a decent outing at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup where he featured in all Wydad's three matches and scored a goal.

That was a tournament which also saw the Moroccan giants developing more keenness in Thembinkosi Lorch who they signed permanently from Sundowns. 

Before joining Toronto, Mailula had broken into the Bafana Bafana fold but he lost his place with coach Hugo Broos stating he is not a fan of stars playing MLS football.

Now that the 24-year-old has returned to Canada, he might have to prove Broos wrong and muscle his way back into the national team ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals.