Lion Links: 2/4/26

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I feel like all we do lately is deliver bad news. I really hope that changes soon, but unfortunately that is not going to happen today. I know I’m not doing a great job of selling today’s links, but I promise there’s a golden reward at the end. Let’s get to the links.

Stojinovic is a No Go

Orlando City’s off-season woes continued as the deal to sign Slovenian center back Dusan Stojinovic is off after the player failed his medical. As such, the club is still in need of additional center backs. Robin Jansson is a starter, but he has not been at training. David Brekalo might be a starter but has mostly been at left back recently. Rumors of adding Iago from Flamengo persist but it has not yet come to pass. All of that makes the Stojinovic news harder to take.

Orlando City B Preseason Match

We now know that Orlando City B will play at least one preseason match against Colorado Rapids 2 thanks to an announcement from the club. That club being the Rapids and not Orlando City. I find it a bit odd that Colorado didn’t know that all preseason matches are state secrets to be guarded at all costs. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the club will show the match. That club being the Rapids, of course.

MLS Transfer News

Orlando City isn’t the only club having deals fall through. New York City FC had signed a deal to move Moussa Sylla to MLS from Schalke 04. NYCFC claimed Sylla failed his medical and tried to negotiate a loan with options. Schalke 04 was not happy with the situation.

Proving that MLS clubs can sign DP forwards, Real Salt Lake acquired forward Morgan Guilavogui from French Ligue 1 side RC Lens. The big news of the day was the potential move of Colombia forward James Rodriguez to Minnesota United, as first reported by Tom Bogert of The Athletic. Rodriguez is a genuine star for Colombia, but it remains to be seen how he will fit in at Minnesota and in MLS.

Concacaf Champions Cup

The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup bracket is out. While Orlando City won’t make this edition of the competition, nine other MLS squads will compete for the trophy. San Diego FC is one of the MLS clubs making a debut appearance in the tournament. The first match saw Forge FC and Tigres UANL play to a 0-0 draw.

Free Kicks

• It turns out that players are willing to take less money to play with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. I’m sure there are no moneys outside of the usual channels that Miami players are receiving to be on the team.
• USMNT players had a great week, with Malik Tillman scoring three goals, Weston McKennie scoring again, and more.
• Bay FC has signed English defender Anouk Denton from West Ham. Bay FC’s new coach, Emma Coates, worked with the England youth teams for eight years, meaning she is familiar with Denton’s abilities.
• We now know the six cities of the soccer matches of the 2028 LA Olympics. Ironically, none of them are in L.A. Rather, they are in New York City; Columbus, OH; Nashville, TN; St. Louis; plus San Diego and San Jose in California.
• In lieu of new players, I present to you an announcement about an announcement of Orlando City’s new jersey.

That will do it for today. Perhaps we’ll get some positive transfer news for Orlando City soon. Until then, Vamos Orlando!