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Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, both European champions with Italy in 2021, will make their MLS debuts on Saturday when Toronto FC hosts expansion Charlotte FC. They cannot come soon enough. Toronto FC embarked on a makeover in the offseason with the arrival of Bob Bradley as head coach and sporting director, but it has not gone well. The Reds reached MLS Cup three times in four years, winning their first league title in 2017, and they had the second best record in the shortened 2020 season, but they had the second worst record in 2021, behind only perennial door-stopper FC Cincinnati, and they rank last among MLS's 28 teams with 0.90 points-per-game after losing their last three games, all by shutouts. Insigne was signed in January from Napoli to a contract to take effect that he completed his final season in Serie A. Bernardeschi also became available as a free agent after he completed his fifth and final season at Juventus and finished his "path in Italy." They join a third summer signing from Italy, veteran defender Domenico Criscito, who has already played three games for TFC. "Both are excited, and everybody's excited to get them going," Bradley said.  "We'll have to figure out exactly what it means in terms of minutes and things like that, but both of them are ready to go." Insigne became available when the MLS summer window opened on July 7 but a calf injury picked up while on national team duty with Italy in June sidelined him. He is not expected to play 90 minutes on Saturday. Insigne, 31, and Bernardeschi, 28, were both signed to four-year contracts as Designated Players. Toronto FC has unloaded two other DPs -- Spaniard Alejandro Pozuelo, the 2020 MLS MVP, and Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo -- leaving room to sign a third DP. Bradley emphasized that the moves underscore that Toronto FC is moving "in a good direction."

See you tomorrow, #TFCLive pic.twitter.com/oRztmHgWXj

Captain Michael Bradley, Bob's son, has seen the impact the two Italian stars have had on the team at training. "They have come in and just established right away how excited they are to be here, what good people they are, first and foremost," he said. "What good professionals they are. How serious they are and how motivated they are about being here. And, of course, when training starts, you can see the quality." Insigne and Bernardeschi are not the first attacking Italian stars to join Toronto FC. Sebastian Giovinco was 28 when he signed with the Reds in 2015. They had not made the MLS playoffs in their first eight seasons. The "Atomic Ant" delivered, setting an MLS record for combined goals and assists in 2015, leading Toronto FC to MLS finals in 2016 and 2017 (when it won MLS Cup) and almost single-handedly carrying the Reds to the Concacaf Champions League final in 2018 when they lost to Guadalajara on penalty kicks. It is hard to imagine that either Insigne or Bernardeschi will have such an immediate impact in Toronto. MLS is now a much more competitive league than it was in 2015. Few mid-season arrivals have turned around a team's fortunes in recent years. And Toronto FC has a lot of holes to fill. The Reds are eight points below the playoff line with 13 games to play,  but they have a chance to win a trophy on Tuesday when they face the Vancouver Whitecaps at B.C. Place in the Voyageurs Cup final for the Canadian championship and a berth in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League. Without coming out and asking for it, Michael Bradley, who has been with Toronto FC since 2014, stressed patience. "One game at a time," he said of the club's situation of the debut of its new Italian stars. "That's where we are right now. That's the situation, that is the only way for us to approach things. One game at a time."