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According to a tweet from Jeffrey Carlisle of ESPN Soccer, Orlando City SC are currently taking a look at ex-New England Revolution centre back A.J. Soares who is training with the Lions.
The 27-year-old is soon to be a free agent having appeared 12 times for Norwegian outfit Viking Stavanger most recently during the 2015/16 campaign.
Already an experienced defender in Major League Soccer having racked up over 100 appearances for New England Revolution between 2011 and 2014, A.J. Soares may well prove a shrewd addition to the Lions’ leaky back line.
With Orlando City SC having parted with Aurélien Collin back in February, we already know that Dionatan Teixeira will be arriving in July but it appears further defensive strengthening may be on the agenda.
That said, any possible move for A.J. Soares wouldn’t come without complications for Orlando City SC with New England Revolution still owning the defender’s MLS rights.
And we all know about those having endured the Antonio Nocerino saga with D.C. United during the off-season!
However, the evidence suggests Adrian Heath has been using the past couple of months to scout numerous defensive additions with not only A.J. Soares and Dionatan Teixeira having trained with the Lions but also Gavin Gunning back in April.
Hearing that soon-to-be-out-of-contract D A.J. Soares is training with Orlando. The #NERevs still have his #MLS rights. #OCSC
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) 18 June 2016
A.J. Soares
Position(s): Centre Back, Defensive Midfield
Nationality: United States
Hometown: Solana Beach, California
Date of Birth: 28/11/1988
Height: 6 ft 0 in
Former Clubs: Orange County Blue Star, New England Revolution, Viking Stavanger