Happy first Friday of 2025! I don’t have too many plans for the weekend beyond brunch with friends, so it should be a relaxing couple of days. Before we dive into today’s links, we here at The Mane Land want to give a special shout out to Michael Garvey for signing up for a Homegrown Player-level membership on our Buy Me a Coffee page. By signing up at one of our three levels of support, our readers and podcast listeners can enjoy added benefits in addition to keeping our bills paid so we can continue doing what we do. Let’s get to today’s soccer news!

Philadelphia Union Hire Bradley Carnell

The Philadelphia Union have hired Bradley Carnell as their fourth head coach in franchise history. He has tough shoes to fill in Philadelphia, as Jim Curtin led the Union to plenty of success since joining in 2014 and was named MLS Coach of the Year twice in that span. Carnell coached St. Louis City through a stellar inaugural season in 2023 that included finishing atop the Western Conference standings, but he was fired by the club last summer. We’ll see if Carnell can get the Union back to the postseason after they missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2017 last season.

Americans in Action This Weekend

While we endure the off-season here in the U.S., there are thankfully plenty of Americans playing abroad for us to root for this weekend. Ligue 1 soccer is back, and defender Mark McKenzie could continue building his case to make the Concacaf Nations League roster when Toulouse plays Lens on Sunday. Johnny Cardoso, who has been excelling amid transfer interest from clubs across Europe, will have a chance to impress when Real Betis takes on Huesca on Saturday in the Copa del Rey. Christian Pulisic may return from injury today when AC Milan faces off against Juventus in an Italian Super Cup semifinal that could also feature Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, and Tim Weah.

Injuries have dampened what was set to be a fun EFL Championship season for American fans, but Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson and Burnley’s Luca Koleosho are helping their teams lead the promotion race. We may get to see Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams, and Chris Richards in the English Premier League as well.

Esmir Bajraktarevic Transferred to Europe

The New England Revolution transferred 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarević to PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of up to $6 million. It’s a hefty sum for the Homegrown Player and the Revolution retain a sell-on fee as part of the deal as well. Bajraktarevic has spent the past three seasons with New England’s first team and was 10th on the 2024 MLS 22 Under 22 rankings. He joins a PSV side that sits atop the Eredivisie and has experience developing players coming from America. As for the Revolution, they helped fill the void left by Bajraktarevic’s exit by signing winger Luis Diaz, who previously played for Caleb Porter in Columbus for a few years.

Denver Reportedly Lands NWSL Team

For a reported expansion fee of $110 million, the NWSL has reportedly chosen Denver as the home of its 16th franchise. That fee is more than double the $53 million expansion fee both BOS Nation FC and Bay FC paid to join the league, and it would also be the highest expansion fee in U.S. women’s sports history. The group behind Denver’s bid, which is led by IMA Financial Group CEO Robert Cohen, reportedly submitted its first payment to the league earlier this week. It’s all tough news for Ohio, as both Cleveland and Cincinnati were finalists to become the 16th team in the league.

Free Kicks

• McCall Zerboni is departing NJ/NY Gotham FC after five years with the club to pursue other opportunities.
• The Chicago Fire transferred defender Tobias Salquist to FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark. Salquist only spent one year in Chicago, but the move makes sense considering center back Jack Elliott’s arrival this off-season.
• Inter Milan claimed a spot in the Italian Super Cup final following a 2-0 win over Atalanta, with Denzel Dumfries scoring a brace in the second half.
• Russia won’t take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to the ongoing sanctions from FIFA and UEFA.

That’s all I have for you this time around. Thanks again to Michael for the support! I hope you all have a fantastic Friday.

Welcome to the second day of the new year, Mane Landers. I didn’t do anything too monumental to ring in 2025, but it was still a fairly good start. I’ve foolishly increased my reading goal even though I didn’t hit it last year, but I’m feeling pretty optimistic. Before we get going, we here at The Mane Land want to give a special shout out to Steele Mycroft for signing up for a TAM Player-level membership on our Buy Me a Coffee page. By signing up at one of our three levels of support, our readers and podcast listeners can enjoy added benefits in addition to keeping our bills paid so we can continue doing what we do.

With that, let’s dive into today’s links!

Women’s Soccer to Watch in 2025

While most of our attention will be on whether the Orlando Pride can repeat as NWSL champions, there’s plenty worth keeping an eye on in women’s soccer this year. We’ll get to see how Brazil does without Marta in this summer’s Copa América Femenina in Ecuador. We also may get to see Barbra Banda and Grace Chanda in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with Zambia in Group A along with host Morocco, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Every FIFA confederation will also have a club champion by the end of the year, with the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup and AFC Women’s Champions League wrapping up. There’s also the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup, which should put a spotlight on smaller European teams.

Predicting 2025 for USMNT and USWNT

Stars and Stripes FC made predictions for how 2025 will go for both the United States Men’s National Team and United States Women’s National Team. It predicts that the USWNT will go undefeated this year, beating some of the world’s best teams along the way. Plenty of attention will be on Lily Yohannes this year, and this month’s Futures Camp is also worth noting. I’m personally hoping the Pride’s Emily Sams can claim the center back spot alongside Naomi Girma.

As for the USMNT, Stars and Stripes FC predicts it will win both the Concacaf Nations League and Concacaf Gold Cup this year. I’m mostly excited to see how Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino unlocks the offense, and I agree that Ricardo Pepi is in a great spot to score plenty of goals.

James Sands Loaned to St. Pauli

New York City FC midfielder James Sands is headed to the Bundesliga, joining St. Pauli on loan until the end of June. The loan can also be extended through the following European season if conditions are met. The 24-year-old has already spent time in Europe, joining Rangers on loan back in 2022, but the Bundesliga should be a new kind of challenge for him. St Pauli is just four points clear of the relegation zone and Sands may help the club ensure its spot in the league next year.

MLS Teams Reportedly Interested in Marcus Rashford

A move to MLS could be an option for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who has not been receiving much playing time at the club as of late. The 27-year-old still has three and a half years on his contract, but an exit before then feels inevitable. He will likely have options to stay in Europe, but MLS teams are reportedly keeping tabs on the situation and could convince Rashford to play in the U.S. While it’s not particularly novel that MLS teams would want someone of Rashford’s caliber, it’s nice that such a move isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Free Kicks

• Austin FC signed Ilie Sanchez through 2025, removing another notable free agent from the market. The 34-year-old recorded 10 goals and 18 assists in his time with LAFC and Sporting Kansas City since joining the league in 2017.
• The Athletic ($) dove into how Christian Pulisic will be affected by AC Milan hiring Sergio Conceicao.
• Wrexham had a minor setback in its fight for promotion after a 2-1 loss to Barnsley dropped it to third in the League One standings. While a loss never helps, there’s still plenty of the season left to go.
• Arsenal moved up to second in the English Premier League after a 3-1 win over Brentford. Liverpool has a six-point lead and a game in hand over Arsenal, but the transfer window could change things up in the second half of the season.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Welcome to the first Lion Links of 2025, Mane Landers. I hope that you safely enjoyed ringing in the new year last night. My wife and I had a nice quiet evening at home, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be. As you saw from our Top 10 Moments of 2024, it was quite a year for those of us who support Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB. Here’s hoping that 2025 brings us more of the same, or even better.

Let’s get to the links.

All the Goals!

You might think that it’s time to look forward, but sometimes it’s more fun to look back. That’s especially true when you look back at all of the amazing goals that brought the Orlando Pride two trophies. Whether it was a blast by Barbra Banda, Marta breaking defenders’ ankles with her slick moves, or Summer Yates stealing the ball and the spotlight, they were all enjoyable. Here’s your chance to experience the magic again.

Get to Know Orlando City’s Photographer

If you ever take the time to look at the photo credit information on the feature photo of our articles, you will often see that they were taken by Orlando City and Orlando Pride photographer Mark Thor — as was the photo for this article. Now, we can learn more about Thor in this feature from The Community Paper. He has taken some very memorable photos over the years for the club. Photographers like Thor and our own Dan MacDonald are often taken for granted, but we appreciate their work.

USMNT Players on the Move from Club Teams

Several USMNT players are either on the move or potentially on the move in the new year. The Seattle Sounders have a deal to acquire Jesus Ferreira from FC Dallas. The deal is still pending final approval and the paperwork. Fellow USMNT striker Brandon Vazquez is leaving Monterrey per mutual agreement. As of now, Vazquez doesn’t have a landing spot though an MLS side is a possibility.

USMNT defender Bryan Reynolds may be moving to Czech side Sparta Prague from Belgian Pro League club Westerlo. Elsewhere, PSV’s Ricardo Pepi is getting interest from other clubs in Europe, and Gio Reyna might finally move on from Borussia Dortmund. There are big things ahead for USMNT players.

2025 Predictions and Resolutions

As the year begins, there are plenty who want to make predictions in the world of soccer. Some are really stepping out on a limb by saying Inter Miami will win MLS Cup, Neymar will make the move to MLS, and more. On the U.S. Soccer front, Mauricio Pochettino needs to dominate Concacaf, Emma Hayes should keep on winning, and Christian Pulisic should embrace the whole Captain America thing.

Free Kicks

• Former Orlando City forward Derek Dodson has signed with D.C. United after the club selected him in Stage 2 of the 2024 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Dodson has moved to fullback after leaving Orlando City.
• Pascal Jansen may be headed to New York City FC to take over as manager of the Pigeons after having his contract bought out at Ferencváros.
• Wolves forward Matheus Cunha received a two-match ban and was fined £80,000 following an incident with Ipswich security earlier in December.
• Wayne Rooney is leaving Plymouth Argyle after only 23 matches. Rooney only managed four wins in his time as the head coach.
• We’ve already reported on Orlando City’s off-season moves, but you probably don’t know about all the moves made by all the other MLS clubs.

That will do it for today. I hope you know how much we appreciate you reading and listening to our work. If you’re looking for a way to support our endeavors in 2025, please check out our Buy Me a Coffee subscription service. Vamos Orlando!