Lion Links: 8/19/25

Good morning, everyone. We have a positively jam-packed week ahead of us. Orlando City faces Toluca on Wednesday, the Orlando Pride are away against Angel City FC on Thursday, Orlando City B takes on Atlanta United 2 on Saturday, and the senior Lions are away to Nashville SC on the same day. With all of that ahead of us, let’s get right into today’s links.

Martin Ojeda Earns Recognition

After his contributions to Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Martin Ojeda has been rewarded with a place on the bench in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday. The Argentine playmaker chipped in with an assist on Ramiro Enrique’s game-winning goal to make it 12 straight league games with a goal contribution. He also provided an eye-watering eight key passes, and generally made himself a nuisance for the Kansas City back line. The inclusion is well-deserved and here’s hoping the good form continues!

Orlando Pride Reportedly Adding Lizbeth Ovalle

The Orlando Pride may have attacking help on the way, as the team has been linked with Lizbeth Ovalle of Tigres. The Mexican international plays as a winger and has scored over 130 goals in the eight years she’s spent with The Amazons. Edgar Martinez of AS Mexico reports that the Pride have triggered her release clause and paid a transfer fee over $1.5 million. He also reports that she’ll have her farewell at the Liga MX Femenil All Star Game, which is set to take place next Friday. Ovalle also has 20 goals in 58 appearances for the Mexican Women’s National Team, and would add some much-needed firepower to a Pride team trying to find its footing in an up-and-down NWSL season. Keep a sharp eye on us here at TML, as we’ll be bringing any additional updates as they occur.

Leagues Cup Quarterfinals Preview

The Leagues Cup quarterfinals take place Wednesday, with all four matches crammed into the tight midweek window. As far as what will decide the matchups, that varies by game. For Orlando City vs. Toluca, it’s likely to come down to which team’s attackers show up and show out. Orlando has Ojeda, Luis Muriel, and Marco Pasalic to call upon, while Toluca will look to Paulinho and Alexis Vega to be the difference-makers. On the other side of the bracket, the LA Galaxy have hosting rights for the entirety of the tournament, and if they can put it to good use, it could be a key factor in continuing the better form they’ve shown in Leagues Cup as compared to MLS play.

Americans in Midweek Action

European leagues are back with a vengeance, and that means that there’s a boatload of Americans who will be playing games during the working week. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic will play Kairat Almaty in UEFA Champions League qualifying Wednesday. Chris Richards and Crystal Palace kick off their own European campaign when they host Fredrikstad in UEFA Conference league qualifying on Thursday. Finally, Richy Ledezma, Cade Cowell, and Chivas take on Tijuana in Liga MX action on Friday.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

With the summer transfer window drawing to a close soon, let’s get caught up on the rumors currently flying around. Manchester United is said to have set a firm asking price of  £50 million for Alejandro Garnacho, but Chelsea will need to sell at least two first-team forwards before they can complete the rumored signings of Garnacho and Xavi Simons. Raheem Sterling probably won’t one of the players sold by the Blues though, as they are reportedly resigned to loaning him out again with potential suitors being put off by his high wages. AC Milan has officially confirmed an interest in United’s Rasmus Hojlund after he was dropped from the squad for the Red Devils’ Premier League opener. Staying in Serie A, Gio Reyna is reportedly getting closer to joining Parma.

We’ll finish things up by moving stateside, as D.C. United has reportedly made a cash trade with CF Montreal for Caden Clark.

Free Kicks

• Have a look at the Orlando Pride putting in some Monday morning work on the training ground.

• Orlando City held pat at No.7 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings, while the Lions are up one spot to No.4 in si.com’s rankings.
• More and more faces are wading into the spat between current and former United States Men’s National Team players.
• The Premier League is on course to break the summer spending record that was set during the 2023 window.

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!