Transfer Rumors: Italian Club Lazio Interested In Orlando City Striker Cyle Larin

Cyle Larin is drawing interest from an Italian giant.

According to a report, Serie A club Lazio has inquired to Orlando City about the 21-year-old to potentially gain his services this summer.

Larin, who has scored four goals in six MLS games this season after knocking in a league-record 17 as a rookie last season, has been drawing interest from clubs outside of MLS for some time. Last year, he was linked to Liga MX club Tigres, and this past weekend, scouts from Norwegian champions Molde had scouts at Red Bulls Arena to watch Larin.

Larin’s stock right now is pretty high — his price tag is around $9 million, according to the report — and Orlando City could certainly find it tempting to sell him high this summer should the right offer come in.

Outside of Larin, the Lions have struggled to find viable options at forward since entering MLS. Bryan Rochez has forever struggled to stay fit and capture form since joining the team, and Martin Paterson struggled through his own injury issues before leaving last summer, having hardly played.

For now, Orlando City seems to have found a good backup option for Larin in Julio Baptista, who’s looked good in his first two starts with the club, including one as a forward in Larin’s place, even while he’s still adjusting to his new team. Whether or not Baptista would be good enough to produce as a starter, consistently, is not something Orlando City fans are all too eager to find out this season.

While it is unlikely that Orlando City is ready to sell Larin just yet, it certainly seems like a matter of when — not if — the young Canadian will make the move to one of the big European leagues.