Orlando City turns down $10M offer for Dike
Lions turn down big offer from elite Premier club
Coach restates confidence that star striker will return to team for 2021 MLS season, as Lions hold to high price tag for player.
Orlando City turned down a $10 million offer for striker Daryl Dike, a source confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel.
The team continues to hold out for a bigger-ticket offer for the young star striker.
The offer came from a Big Six Premier League team, according to a report by BBC Sports. The “Big Six” refers to the top six teams in the Premier League who have remained consistently dominant for several decades — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
Coach Oscar Pareja stated confidence that Dike will return to Orlando for the 2021 MLS season, repeating the necessity for an extremely high price tag to allow the Lions to let him go.
“Our intention is to bring him back unless something extraordinary happens,” Pareja said. “What that means is, financially, for him and the club, at some point the move makes sense . ... But at the moment we’re waiting on finalizing the loan at the end of the season in May and bringing him back.”
Dike is currently on loan to Barnsley in the English Cham
pionship, the second-tier league that operates below the Premier League. The young striker scored three goals in his last five matches for Barnsley, which has gone undefeated (7-0-1) since the start of Dike’s loan period.
The loan includes an option-tobuy clause, which is priced at $20 million for 80% of Dike’s rights. If Barnsley chose to buy through this clause, the Lions would still retain 20% of his player rights and thus receive 20% of any ensuing sale.
The $10 million Premier League offer was similarly structured for 80% of Dike’s rights, according to a source.
Dike burst onto the scene in his rookie season for the Lions, scoring eight goals in 17 games and earning MLS Player of the Month in August shortly after making his debut.
The striker earned his first two U.S. men’s national-team call-ups following the 2020 season, debuting for the Americans against Trinidad and Tobago in January.
Barring a sale, Dike is expected to return to Orlando at the conclusion of the Championship season in May.