Transfer Rumors: Orlando City Linked to Brazilian Goalkeeper Fábio

Orlando City has been linked by an ESPN report to 34-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper Fábio Deivson Lopes Maciel, known commonly as simply Fábio, who currently plays for Cruzeiro in Brazil’s Série A. The transfer would have to come in the off-season, as the player is not currently out of contract and the MLS deadline has passed.

Fábio is under contract with Cruzeiro through April of 2016 but the club has an option that must be triggered by Sept. 4. The veteran has played in more than 600 matches with Cruzeiro since 2005 and is the club’s most capped player of all time. He also made 84 appearances with Vasco da Gama from 2000-04.

The ESPN story namechecks Orlando City captain Kaká, but also contains a quote saying that although there has been interest from the United States, they do not confirm that any contact was made with Kaká or Orlando City.

With veteran goalkeeper Tally Hall on the roster and rookie Earl Edwards Jr. developing nicely, it’s uncertain why the Lions would want to add a goalkeeper who will be 35 next month. Hall is 30, is on a multi-year contract, and is in fine form. He stopped an Obafemi Martins penalty on Sunday, as well as making a diving, one-handed stop on Andy Rose’s rebound attempt. He also made several big stops down the stretch against Philadelphia to keep that game in a scoreless tie.

Quite frankly, goalkeeper is not a position of need.

This seems like one of those rumors that includes Orlando City just because the player is Brazilian and because Orlando City seems to be the hot club to link to any overseas signing.

We’re extremely skeptical of this one but we’ll monitor it for further updates.