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Just as the Antonio Nocerino to Orlando City SC rumours looked dead, they’re back with a vengeance with the news from the Orlando Sentinel that this deal is far from over.

As reported by Paul Tenorio, it had looked as if Nocerino was set to join fellow MLS franchise D.C. United last week but yesterday, reports from the Italian-based Gazzetta dello Sport claimed the AC Milan star is actually closer to signing for the Lions.

Here’s Nocerino in action for AC Milan (Video Credit: footycomps)

What now lies in the way of City concluding a deal for the former Italian international however are his discovery rights , currently in possession by D.C. United according to Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

In the recent past, we’ve seen Didier Drogba eventually rock up at current club Montreal Impact after his discovery rights were purchased from Chicago Fire for over $250,000 by the Canadian outfit.

As Tenorio claims in his piece, sanctioning Nocerino’s arrival via securing his discovery rights would be for a much more modest fee but it appears Lions fans are split on whether the Italian’s arrival is even necessary anyway.

Against Nocerino’s arrival…

One note on the Nocerino saga: if this deal gets too pricey (compensation to DCU) I hope we walk away..

No Deal > Bad Deal

— Chris (@OrlandoCountySC) February 1, 2016

I kinda want Nocerino to just go to DCU. Use that money and DP slot elsewhere.

— City Soccer Talk (@CitySoccerTalk) February 1, 2016

The idea of Orlando City giving up Darwin Ceren, their best player in 2015, who just got a four-year extension, for Nocerino is insane.

— Tim Fontenault (@Tim_Fontenault) February 1, 2016

For Nocerino’s arrival…

I’d like to harp on this point. Nocerino will give Kaká space and someone he knows well to work with.
Kaká with space is super dangerous.

— Lionheart (@TheLionsHeart) February 1, 2016

With more fans seemingly against the arrival of the Italian judging by Twitter, you can see that many Lions supporters are reluctant to break up the solid central midfield partnership that already exists.

After all, Cristian Higuita and Darwin Cerén provided a successful core for Adrian Heath’s side in 2015 with the latter Lion signing a new extension last week.

What’s more, Nocerino is capable of playing in the number 10 role but accommodating him would mean shifting Kaká to the flanks while demoting either Carlos Rivas or the returning Kevin Molino.

The latter is of course a fan favourite at the Citrus Bowl and the former expected to massively improve on his 2015 campaign this term.

Something that is certain however is that the Nocerino interest is real with coach Heath responding with the following statement after being probed recently.

Heath claimed yesterday: “We’ve been trying, we’ve been trying all weekend. So hopefully something might have happened this morning while we’ve been out training.

“But certainly we’ve been active over the weekend. We thought we were close and then it went off the boil a little bit, but as of last night it was back on. So we’re hopeful.”

With more news to come on this deal in the next 24 hours and probably beyond, here’s how Orlando City SC could look with Nocerino included…