Despite numerous reports linking international players to Orlando City for the 2015 Major League Soccer season, it will not be until the Dec. 10 Expansion Draft that the Lions’ roster truly begins to take shape.
Orlando City general manager Paul McDonough told MLSsoccer.com earlier this week that the club have no plans to announce potential signings before Wednesday, and that the Expansion Draft will dictate what they do in terms of pursuing additional Designated Players to join Kaká and the Lions.
Could that leave the door open for the likes of England U-21 goalkeeper Jack Butland, 20-year-old Colombian striker Carlos Rivas or veteran Benfica strikerYannick Djalo, who played 2014 on loan with the San Jose Earthquakes?
Only time will tell. But judging by the air mileage being compiled by Orlando City coach Adrian Heath – who confirmed this week his trips to Brazil, Colombia and multiple African countries, among other locales – logistics may be all that stand in the way of bringing such pieces to town.
“You name it, we’ve covered a lot of bases in the last couple of months,” Heath said of his scouting trips. “We think we’ve got one or two good things happening at this moment in time, and if we can pull off one of the things that we’re trying to do, then we’ll be quite excited about the group of players we're bringing in.”
With nine players currently signed for the inaugural MLS campaign, and a 10th lined up in goalkeeper Tally Hall, who is expected to move from the Houston Dynamo to Orlando in Monday's trade window, Heath said he has been focusing on filling particular positions while also looking to accumulate talent that can help sustain success over the long haul.
“We have one or two things going on with clubs in the MLS in terms of trades, and we’re looking at areas where we think we might be a little bit short [on depth],” Heath said. “We’re looking at players with potential that we think not only can they help us today, but moving forward, they’re going to be good value and good players for us over a period of time.”
Orlando City currently have four defenders and five midfielders under contract, but five of those nine are teenagers, including right backs Rafael Ramos and Tyler Turner. Securing forwards, experienced players to fit along the backline and left-sided attackers are likely priorities for the club, no matter where they can find them.
“We’ve been looking at players everywhere,” Heath said. “With the Expansion Draft coming up, we’ve been trying to get as much information on players that we think may be available, and we’ve got the SuperDraft coming up, so we’ve been watching a lot of college [soccer]. We’ve been trying to cover all the bases and give ourselves as much information and [been] trying to prepare as best we can for what’s coming up over the next couple of months.”
