The fourth week of Orlando City’s preseason preparations is (almost) in the books. The Lions will be kicking off the 2026 MLS season against the New York Red Bulls in a little over two weeks’ time, which seems impossibly near at hand. Let’s take a look at some of the good and some of the bad from the week that was.

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Nolan Miller Earns a Contract

OCSC announced on Wednesday that it signed 2026 MLS SuperDraft selection Nolan Miller to a deal through the 2026 season with several additional option years tacked on. The center back was the ninth overall pick in the draft, and it’s good to see another high selection earning a contract after Harvey Sarajian was the first from the current draft class to do so back in January. Part of the motivation behind the move may be due to Orlando’s center back situation that we’ll touch on later, but either way, the youngster has his foot in the door and will have a chance to get on the field, contribute, and potentially extend his stay in the City Beautiful.

Iago Reportedly on Track

It’s been a trying week for Orlando City fans (more on that below), but another piece of news to be happy about came on Wednesday, when Oscar Pareja noted during his media availability that the team is continuing to work towards finalizing the signing of center back Iago from Flamengo.

This is one that’s been rumored for awhile, and devoted social media users may have even seen specific numbers thrown around, like a transfer fee of $1.5 million and Flamengo retaining a sell-on clause of 50%. Whether those are accurate or not, only time will tell, but for now it’s good to hear that talks are ongoing. While it would be nice for the process to go a little quicker, signing players from Brazilian teams seems to be a bit tricky at times, so it isn’t necessarily surprising that this deal is taking its sweet time. Hopefully negotiations wrap up quickly and Iago can join the Lions sooner rather than later though, because as we’re about to discuss, the team is almost certainly going to need him.

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Robin Jansson’s Injury

Robin Jansson had surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. While no specific recovery timeline was announced and it’s difficult to estimate one since we don’t know when exactly the surgery happened, this is not great news so close to the start of the season. David Brekalo is currently the only experienced center back available to take the field, and we’re 15 days away from the first game of the season. A lot can change in that amount of time, but it’s a nervy place to be regardless. I also don’t love the fact that the injury is a Jones fracture. The fifth metatarsal, where the break occurred, is an area of the body that’s notorious for not getting great blood flow when compared to other bones, and Jones fractures have a reputation of being tricky injuries to heal. The captain is in good hands with the club’s staff and the good folks at Orlando Health, but I would caution restraint when it comes to expecting him to make a speedy return to the field.

A Signing Falls Through

The news of Jansson’s injury might have been slightly easier to bear if not for this piece of news that Tom Bogert broke on Monday.

The wording that the deal fell apart after a failed medical implies that all of the particulars were sorted between the clubs and the player, and that it was the very last hurdle that proved its undoing. That’s brutal enough on the face of things, as it deprived Orlando of a starting-caliber center back who is only 25 and would presumably have time to grow and improve at the club for a number of years. When Jansson’s injury is taken into account, it hurts even worse. As I said earlier, a lot can happen in two weeks, but due to unfortunate and uncontrollable circumstances the Lions’ center back corps is looking positively threadbare at the time of this writing.

While it’s very easy to get lost in the negatives, this week wasn’t all bad. Losing one potential center back and then a nailed-on starter and club captain in the space of two days hurts, there’s no getting around it. But on the bright side, a young player will get a chance to prove himself, an MLS U22 Initiative signing will reportedly be on the way sooner or later, and there’s still some time for additional reinforcements to arrive before the season opener arrives. Keep your heads up, take things one day at a time, and pray for good things from the soccer gods. Vamos Orlando!

Just like that, the third week of Orlando City’s preseason preparations is almost in the books. As we’ve done at the end of each of the two previous weeks, let’s take a look back at some things I liked and some things I didn’t from this past week.

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A New Signing Rumor

Technically this happened last Friday, but it was after my previous preseason story had already published, so we run with it this week. Tom Bogert has reported that Orlando is close to signing center back Dusan Stojinovic from Jagiellonia Białystok in the Polish first division.

If signed, Stojinovic would become the second Slovenian on the team alongside David Brekalo and would also help to reinforce a position of need for the Lions. Bogert’s blurb is also notable for mentioning that the team is still working on signing Brazilian center back Iago, but he profiles as more of a younger piece that won’t be expected to start right away, while Stojinovic’s experience seems to point to him being in serious contention for a starting spot.

Glimpses of Goals

A drawback of this preseason that I spoke about a couple weeks ago was the lack of preseason friendlies that are open to the public. That means that while I wouldn’t ordinarily take any extra notice when it comes to footage of a preseason goal, I dissected this one a fair amount.

The clip came from a tilt against Forge FC down in Cancun that hadn’t been previously announced on the team’s preseason schedule, and there’s plenty to like here. Ivan Angulo shows some quick feet and makes the right decision in the final third with an accurate ball into the box, which Duncan McGuire dummies and Marco Pasalic slots home. You can only glean so much from a preseason game, but it’s nice to see a goal being scored from open play, and frankly it’s just nice to see the Lions in action. Perhaps it says something that I’m this happy to see video of a goal from a closed-door preseason friendly, but I’m choosing to look on the bright side and be happy that we get to see it to begin with.

Dislikes

Alex Freeman’s Farewell

The news that Orlando City fans have dreaded for months has now come to pass, as it was announced on Thursday afternoon that the Lions have sold Alex Freeman to Villarreal. The writing has been growing clearer on the wall for awhile now, with reports that the fullback didn’t want to sign a new contract, and that OCSC’s last remaining MLS U22 Initiative slot would be used elsewhere. It was hard not to hold out hope that he’d stay until at least the summer window, but he joins the Spanish side immediately. I, like presumably the majority of Orlando fans, am thrilled for the player, but hate it for the team. The Lions are now extremely thin at right back following the earlier exits of Kyle Smith and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. The upside is that the reported initial fee of $4 million gives the Lions plenty of cash to play with when it comes to signing not just a replacement right back, but strengthening other areas of the team as well. Regardless, it sucks to have gotten only one year of an excellent player that is by all accounts, just as pleasant a person off the field. I wish him all the best, but I can’t say I’m happy to have him go.

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, everyone. Stay warm with the cold(er) weather that’s due to come through this weekend, and I’ll see you back here next Friday. Vamos Orlando!

It seems strange to write considering it feels like the 2025 MLS season only ended yesterday, but week one of Orlando City’s preseason is (almost) fully in the books. With that being the case, let’s talk about the week that was and discuss some good things and not-so-good things about it.

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Married to Martin

Orlando City announced on Thursday that it signed Martin Ojeda to a contract extension that runs through the 2028-2029 season. Given that the Argentine no. 10 had a record-breaking 2025 season, and the fact that there were some rumblings online about interest from Palmeiras and other teams, this is an extremely welcome piece of news. Ojeda was the straw that stirred Orlando City’s drink last year, and losing him after his breakout year would have been a huge blow, despite what undoubtedly would have been a tidy little transfer fee. Instead, Orlando’s talisman is locked down for the long term, and it was also good to hear him speak about how happy his family has been in the City Beautiful.

Moving on From Muriel

On the opposite side of the coin, the Lions also announced on Thursday that the team has sold Luis Muriel to Colombian side Junior FC. Like Ojeda, this is a key move for the club to make as it moves off a Designated Player whose time here probably can’t be called a failure, but certainly can’t be called an outright success either. The forward’s wildly fluctuating inconsistency was what made his time in Orlando so frustrating, because it isn’t like he wasn’t capable of performing at a high level in MLS. One has only to look at his two league performances against Inter Miami during the 2025 season to see that. Ultimately though, he wasn’t consistently clinical enough in front of goal, and he was off form more than he was on. His departure frees up a precious Designated Player slot that OCSC really needs to nail if it wants to have a more successful campaign this year, and we can now enjoy speculating about which player the front office decides to use it on.

Returning Faces

It did my heart good to see the formerly injured duo of Yutaro Tsukada and Wilder Cartagena back training with the full team after suffering season-ending injuries during the 2025 preseason. Cartagena tore his Achilles tendon in the first friendly of the year against Atletico Mineiro, while Tsukada tore his ACL during a friendly with CF Montreal, and both injuries changed Orlando’s season before it even started. The team lost a starting defensive midfielder in Cartagena and a depth piece who had shown promise with Orlando City B when it came to Tsukada, and the year started on a somber note as a result. Not only is it good for the outlook of the team to have them back, but it’s just great for the players themselves to be able to get back out there, and hopefully they’re both able to rebound well this season.

Dislikes

Dearth of Open Practices & Friendlies

Technically we found out about this last week when the preseason schedule was announced, but I just think the lack of open practices and friendlies this year is a damn shame. None of the Lions’ preseason games are open to the general public, and there are no opportunities to go watch the team train. While I do think it’s good that the final preseason match is at least open to season ticket members, as they do deserve something for their extra commitment, it just seems like a missed opportunity. Given how many new faces will be on the team this year, having open practices and friendlies is a great way to get fans excited about the new arrivals and build anticipation for the upcoming season. I have no doubt that the club had its reasons for structuring the preparations in the way it did, but I can’t help feeling disappointed regardless.

All in all it was a pretty good first week of preseason preparations, and I think that’s evidenced in the fact that I could only find one (slightly nitpicky) thing to dislike. Hopefully, the rest of the weeks leading up to the regular season are in the same vein. Vamos Orlando!