Lion Links: 1/6/26

Good morning, everyone. It seems hard to believe that we’re in a new year once again, but we’re now staring cleanly down the barrel of the beginning of another MLS preseason. The season opener will be here before we know it, and that means that there’s plenty of news we need to get to today. Let’s have a gander at the links.

New Orlando City B Signing

Orlando City B announced on Monday morning that the team has signed midfielder Ignacio Gomez on loan from Velez Sarsfield II of Argentina’s Torneo de Reserva youth league. An Argentinian himself, Gomez is a box-to-box midfielder who accumulated almost 3,000 minutes across 54 games for his parent team. He also brings some title-winning know-how to the Young Lions, as he won the Copa LPF Proyección Inicial with Velez Sarsfield II. Welcome to Orlando!

MLS Transfer News

The MLS transfer machine continues to grind away, and that means we have some signings to get up to speed on. We begin with a pair of rumored deals that are now official, beginning with Dayne St. Clair, who has been announced as an Inter Miami player on a deal that runs through the 2026 season with an option for 2027. D.C. United officially announced the signing of striker Louis Munteanu from Romania’s CFR Cluj, with the forward occupying a Designated Player slot. Austin FC has signed Owen Wolff to a contract extension through June of 2030 that will see him occupy an MLS U22 Initiative slot, marking another success for the team’s first Homegrown Player signing. Finally, the all-powerful Tommy Scoops says that Atlanta United is close to signing an MLS U22 Initiative left back.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans set to play games during the working week, so make sure you’re up to speed on the schedule. Things get started today when Weston McKennie and Juventus travel to play Sassuolo in Serie A. Tomorrow has Yunus Musah and Atalanta visiting Bologna in the same competition, while Antonee Robinson and Fulham host Chelsea in Premier League action. Thursday sees Tim Weah and Marseille face PSG in the Trophée des Champions, while Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Supercopa de Espana. Things wrap up on Friday when Alex Zendejas and Club America face Tijuana to start Liga MX’s Clausura season.

Coaching Changes Everywhere

The coaching carousel has been spinning at the speed of light lately, and its been throwing people off it left, right, and center, with two more victims added to the list on Monday. The morning began with the news that Manchester United has fired Ruben Amorim, bringing an end to a 14-month spell in charge for the Portuguese coach. Darren Fletcher will coach the team on an interim basis before a caretaker coach is appointed for the rest of the season. Not to be outdone, Celtic announced the firing of former Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy after 33 days on the job, while also taking the additional step of firing Paul Tisdale from his post as head of football operations. On a more positive note, Sporting Kansas City has announced the hiring of Raphael Wicky as the team’s new head coach, making him the fifth person to hold that post.

Free Kicks

• Congratulations to the Orlando Pride’s happy couple, Marta and Carrie Lawrence!

• Rumors are flying that the United States Men’s National Team’s home jerseys for the World Cup will bear similarities to the iconic 2012 “Waldo” shirt.
• The good people over at Hudson River Blue think they know what the dates will be for the 2026 MLS transfer windows.
• The Professional Referee Organization has a new logo that no one cares about.

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!