Orlando City Signs Former Seattle Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro

As originally reported by The Athletic‘s Tom Bogert, Orlando City has signed free agent attacking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro. The 34-year-old Uruguayan spent the last eight seasons with the Seattle Sounders but parted ways with the Western Conference power after the 2023 season. Lodeiro won’t be a Designated Player, and his deal runs through the 2024 season with an option year for 2025.

“We are thrilled to have Nico join us here in Orlando. He is a player we are very familiar with and feel fits perfectly within the style of soccer we want to play,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He is a proven winner in this league, lifting the MLS Cup twice and winning the Concacaf Champions League, so he knows what it takes. We know he’ll provide valuable experience and leadership to our locker room as we look to build upon our Club’s successes this season. We are very happy to have been able to sign Nico and can’t wait to get him out on the field with us.”

Although he won’t be a DP, Lodeiro has spent most of his time in Seattle serving as the perfect example of how a modern MLS No. 10 should look and produce. In 231 appearances with the Sounders, he scored 58 goals and assisted on 62 others. He played in 33 of Seattle’s 34 regular-season games last year, but it was a down year by his standards, as he scored just one goal and recorded 10 assists for a Sounders team that struggled to put the ball in the net. Toward the end of the season, Lodeiro was replaced by Albert Rusnak in the Sounders’ starting XI. The Uruguayan scored 12 goals and added nine assists in 34 games between MLS and the Concacaf Champions League in 2022. Internationally, Lodeiro earned 60 caps with Uruguay between 2009 and 2019.

Lodeiro helped lead the Sounders to MLS Cups in 2016 and 2019, and a Concacaf Champions League title in 2022. Although he wore the number 10 on his kit in Seattle, sources have suggested that it won’t be his number in Orlando, as Facundo Torres is expected to swap jersey numbers from 17 to 10 prior to the 2024 season.

Lodeiro was a well-traveled player before arriving in Seattle, making stops at Nacional in Uruguay, Ajax in the Netherlands, Botofogo in Brazil, and Boca Juniors in Argentina. He took part in both the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups for Uruguay. His only appearance in the 2010 group stage was in the opener, in which he came off the bench and was sent off, but he played in both knockout games. He also took part in three of Uruguay’s four games in the 2014 tournament.

What It Means for Orlando City

While Lodeiro isn’t the same player he was a few years ago, he doesn’t necessarily need to be, as he’s not going to require a DP slot and as a green card holder he won’t require an international slot. Provided he acclimates to Oscar Pareja’s system and his new teammates, Lodeiro should be able to provide roughly the same number of assists Mauricio Pereyra has been getting while providing a bigger threat to score goals himself than Orlando’s former No. 10.

The departures of Pereyra and Junior Urso following the 2023 season meant that Orlando City was in the market for a central attacking midfielder. Despite his age, Lodeiro is likely being brought in to fill that role in the starting lineup. While he’s lost a step since joining the league, Pereyra had as well and played that position for the Lions recently. The difference between the two Uruguayans is that Lodeiro is a more accomplished finisher in front of goal and looks for his shot more often.

The fact that he’s not signing as a DP is also a positive for Orlando City. The club sent striker Ercan Kara, who occupied one of those spots since signing prior to the 2022 season, to Turkey. That spot remains open for the Lions to bring in someone, though there currently are restrictions on who they can bring in. The club could use the slot on a Young Designated Player — potentially a younger central attacking midfielder who could study under Lodeiro and provide coverage when fixture congestion is thick.

Additionally, Lodeiro was playing on fieldturf during his home games at Lumen Field and will now have natural grass as his home surface. That could impact his legs in a positive way during the upcoming 2024 season.