Transfer Rumors: Orlando City Close to Signing Two Players; Linked With Former Real Madrid Defender

Don’t panic just yet, Orlando City fans, the reinforcements are coming.

Upon his arrival to Yankee Stadium yesterday before his club took on fellow expansion side New York City FC, Orlando City majority owner Flávio Augusto da Silva hosted a live Periscope (speaking in Portuguese) while walking around the pitch.

In that pre-game talk, Flávio revealed that Orlando City is close to announcing the signing of two new players, who should become official at some point this week. The Brazilian owner didn’t say who the players were, leaving us to speculate on that part.

Orlando City has been heavily linked with international stars such as Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Didier Drogba, and Paulo Henrique Ganso this summer, but given the lack of rumors coming out on those signings recently, it’s easy to believe that neither of these two signings will be the big-name designated players many fans were hoping for.

Subsequently, a Hungarian website is reporting that Orlando City is close to signing 28-year-old center back David Mateos on a transfer from Budapest side Ferencvárosi TC.

Mateos has been in Hungary since 2013 after leaving Real Madrid, where he failed to make a debut appearance for the first team, despite being selected for the 18-man lineup a handful of times. He spent a large chunk of his playing career with Real Madrid, putting in nearly seven years in their youth system before moving up through the Club’s C and B squads.

The report also says that Orlando City is willing to pay up to €200,000 ($221,248) for the Spanish defender, which seems like a high price tag for a guy playing in Hungary instead of one of Europe’s bigger leagues.

In addition to playing in Real Madrid’s system from 2006-13, the 6-foot-3 central defender spent the 2011-12 season on loan with clubs in Greece (AEK Athens) and Spain (Real Zaragoza).

If the report is to be believed, then that would mean there’s one more player out there close to joining Orlando City we don’t know about. Whoever it is, we’re just hoping that it’s finally an attacking midfielder, preferably a right winger.