Lion Links: 7/22/16

Welcome to another fantastic Friday edition of Lion Links! As we get ready for another weekend of summer soccer, there is a considerable amount of information to be mulled over if you're an Orlando City fan. A new coach, a new player, the usual transfer garbage, it's all taking place here in this pseudo surface of the sun we call Orlando. So without further ado, here are your links!

Larin's Double Link

Since this story has developed quite a bit since yesterday, we here at The Mane Land are throwing a rarity into this week's links: a double link. I know, I'm as excited as you are. Cyle Larin was linked to Benfica yesterday according to some transfer jabber in a Portuguese tabloid. The news of the move then quickly reached the ears of some Orlando City people, and they have completely denied it. Larin was also asked about it and said he'd only heard about it online, but is honored to be linked with such a big club. Please don't leave, Cyle.

We have a Giant Now

As stated before, Orlando City has signed a loan deal for a new defender from Uruguay's Club Nacional, José Aja. The deal was finished Thursday, and realistically it's not a transfer that's going to set the world ablaze, but it is one that could help the leaky defense. Aja is 6-foot-3 and will at the very least provide a physical presence in an unstable Orlando City back line. We all wish him the best and I for one look forward to the chants that will be made, however the residents of Orlando choose to pronounce "Aja."

Kreis Needs Help

Much has been said about the hire of Orlando City’s newest manager, Jason Kreis, over the past few days, but regardless of whether you think he’s the right man for the job or not, he needs help from the upper echelons of the organization. I may continuously yell at the TV from week to week about the particular tactical nuances that I disagree with, but at the end of the day there is a lot more to be done with the organization as a whole, and a new coach won’t fix all of those issues.

Bye for Now, Bryan

Bryan Róchez appears set to be loaned out by Orlando City as he returns to his former club, Real España. Having made a limited amount of appearances, Róchez never really hit the ground running at Orlando City. Regardless of that, we wish him the best in his future career.

A Poor Image for the League

It's never nice to see a journalist suffer, but when it's for publicizing his opinion about the club he probably feels very passionately about then that just makes it all the worse. The MLS pretty much sets the bar for press accessibility, something it has thrived from, but hopefully this blacklisting of a respected journalist by a member club isn't a foreshadowing of future actions by rather "salty" club owners. I also might want to consider a new field of business considering the size of my pie hole. Thankfully, the league stepped in and did the right thing by reinstating the journalist's credentials.

That's it for all of us here at The Mane Land! Have a great weekend!