Top Three Remaining Priorities for Orlando City this Off-Season

With five and a half weeks remaining until Orlando City takes to the pitch again in competitive action, there are still a few unknowns surrounding what the Lions’ roster will look like for the 2024 campaign. Below are my top three priorities that the team needs to address prior to the start of the season. Let’s take a look.

Sign a Center Back

Throughout all of the success the team has enjoyed over the last few years, a constant was the quality of play by Robin Jansson and Antonio Carlos. While there were periods of time when a part of the dynamic duo was missing in action due to injury or, less commonly, suspension, when both were in the starting 11 together, Orlando generally fielded one of the best center back duos in Major League Soccer. When Jansson or Carlos were unavailable, there was little, or often no, dropoff in defensive play from the central defense with Rodrigo Schlegel filling in for one of the starters. After transferring Carlos away to Fluminense FC two weeks before the end of 2023, there is now a hole in the roster which is screaming for a starting quality center back.

No disrespect intended towards Schlegel, who did a fine job throughout the 2023 season filling in as a starter while Carlos was out, but the team needs a third high quality center back on the roster. Currently the squad is one injury or suspension away from being exposed as incredibly thin in the center back department, and the last two seasons have shown fans the highs of having two great defenders on the field at once and also the lows when two of the top three members of that group misses time. After the signing of Nicolas Lodeiro was recently announced, my hope is that this position group will be addressed with the next signing prior to the start of the 2024 season as it is easily the biggest roster need remaining.

Add a Veteran Striker

The Orlando City front office has spent the last few weeks turning down loan offers for second-year forward Duncan McGuire, making it known to the masses that Orlando will continue to run on Duncan to begin 2024. While this should come as no surprise to anyone, the Lions can show that they are forward thinking by searching for a quality veteran presence. Here I sit, screaming from the mountain top once again as I did last off-season, for the team to go out and sign Kei Kamara. Pipe dreams aside, someone of that caliber who can spell McGuire, come in with the game on the line and help find the back of the net, and can help the team’s young forwards continue to grow an integral piece of the 2024 puzzle not yet assembled.

Currently, the free agency market is filled with names of players who could fill this role. I think McGuire and fellow youngster Ramiro Enrique are quality pieces who have shown over the last year that then know how to score and that they can take advantage of defenses in different ways. However, both could be gone for the Olympics, and Enrique has yet to establish any kind of consistency since his arrival. The addition of a veteran presence could push this team’s expectations higher.

Figuring What to Do with the Third Designated Player Slot

I think after reading through the options somewhere close to 50 times that I now truly understand the rules regarding what type of player Orlando City can sign to fill the third DP spot on the roster. April Fool’s in January if you actually believed that last sentence, because I think I need to go back to college just to study MLS roster regulations in order to get to the bottom of it all. Essentially, if the Lions choose to bring in a third DP, they must spend that roster spot on a Young Designated Player, meaning someone who is 23 years old or younger during the league year.

I think that the Wilf family has shown a willingness to make moves to better the team. Having the type of success that the team has enjoyed the last two years with one of the most affordable rosters in all of North America is a testament to the scouting and developmental aspects of the front office and coaching staff. No one knows how much longer Orlando’s young stars like Facundo Torres, Cesar Araujo, or McGuire will be in the City Beautiful and the club went out and signed a known MLS winner in Lodeiro. The time to chase trophies is certainly now for the Lions but identifying the next young Orlando City superstar and bringing him into the team this year should also be a priority.

Those are the top three priorities I see remaining with the start of the season just around the corner. Do you agree that these are the most important aspects of the team building left to go, or are there other areas of concern that you think the team must address before competitive games in February arrive? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!