Making Sense of the Steven Gerrard Rumor

Yesterday, legendary Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard confirmed that he will leave the Merseyside club at the end of the 2014-15 season. While Gerrard has been linked to a potential move to the LA Galaxy by credible sources, a rumor also sprang up that Orlando City SC could potentially be in the mix for his services.

According to a report by Goal.com’s Ives Galarcep, the Lions would be interested in signing the Liverpool star and England international if the price is right.

“If it’s in the neighborhood of $5 million or $6 million then that would probably be difficult to make happen, but at a lower price it’s something Orlando City could definitely consider,” one source familiar with Orlando City’s plans told Goal USA.

Let’s break down this statement.

It first supposes that if Gerrard’s price tag were high, this is probably not even an item for discussion. With a player of Gerrard’s caliber, despite his advancing age (he’ll turn 35 at the end of May), one can safely assume that it would take a substantial sum to land him, so this entire conversation is likely a non-starter.

However, Galarcep’s source says “at a lower price it’s something Orlando City could definitely consider.”

OK, so the Lions could consider signing Gerrard, in much the same way they could consider literally anything, such as buying Neymar as a target striker. And the source doesn’t say how much lower the price would need to be to entice Orlando City into discussions. Is $4 million low enough? $3 million? Lower? At some price point, what MLS side wouldn’t be interested in an experienced, standout midfielder?

Does any of this point specifically in Orlando’s direction? No, not especially.

Let’s say it happens. Gerrard would not displace Kaka at central attacking midfield, nor would he likely take younger, faster attacking players like Brek Shea or Kevin Molino out of the lineup. That leaves a position shift for either Molino (striker? defensive mid?) or Shea (left back?), or it means Gerrard must play a defensive midfield role next to Amobi Okugo. I’m not sure any of those scenarios are overly plausible, although the latter makes the most sense.

City would probably be better served to spend such funds on a third DP to play somewhere on the back line or to land a more experienced striker than underage Honduran DP Bryan Rochez.

Perhaps the most logical landing spot for Gerrard, outside of the Galaxy which reportedly has made him an offer already, is New York City FC, where he would help to ease the sting of the Frank Lampard debacle.

I’ll never say anything is out of the realm of possibility, barring maybe the Lions bringing in both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo this season, but this rumor sure seems unlikely to amount to anything in the end.

Are you interested in seeing Steven Gerrard in purple? Would he even fit what Adrian Heath is trying to do? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below and let us know what you think.

UPDATE: Never mind.