As its MLS
season opener nears, Orlando City is close to tweaking its roster once again. The Lions reportedly are in the final stages of acquiring center back Lamine Sané.
Orlando City SC is in the final stages of acquiring center back Lamine Sané, continuing the Lions’ roster rebuild with less than two weeks before the season opener.
The club reached an agreement with Sané, whose signing is expected to be officially announced soon, according to a source. Orlando City officials declined to comment on the acquisition.
A 6-foot-3, 30-year-old Senegal national team member who was born in France, Sané joins the team to provide depth on the back line, though he’s also capable of playing as a holding midfielder.
Sané spent the first part of the year with Bundesliga side Werder Breman, scoring one goal in 11 appearances for the team. According to the club’s website, he missed two consecutive days of training without an excuse after catching a cold, which led sporting director Frank Baumann to suspend the defender “until further notice.”
Counting his first season with Werder Breman, Sané made 38 appearances and scored two goals.
Before that, he was with Ligue 1 side Bordeaux, scoring seven goals in 188 club appearances. He was suspended indefinitely from the French club after reportedly getting into an altercation in the locker room following a 4-3 home loss to Nantes in February of 2016.
Sané has been capped 12 times for Senegal.
He’s the latest back line addition for Orlando City and the newest acquisition during an offseason that’s brought in a bunch of new faces amid a push for the club’s first MLS postseason appearance.
Left back Mohamed ElMunir, 25, joined the team near the end of December, shortly after it was announced right back RJ Allen, 27, had been acquired from NYCFC in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
Earlier this month, the team announced it acquired center back Amro Tarek via a one-year loan from Egyptian Premier League side Wadi Degla FC with a club option to buy.
The team also added MLS assists leader Sacha Kljestan through a trade with the New York Red Bulls and sent $1.05 million in allocation money to the Columbus Crew for attacker Justin Meram.