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Selected by Orlando City SC as the 20th pick (64th overall) in round three of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft yesterday, the Lions have a new British player on board – Danny Deakin.

The 23-year-old Sheffield-born pro arrives in Central Florida having spent last season at NASL outfit Detroit City and now becomes the second Brit on Orlando City SC‘s 2017 first team roster.

With Luke Boden joining Tampa Bay Rowdies, goalkeeping coach Stewart Kerr joining Vancouver Whitecaps and Phil Rawlins stepping down from his day-to-day operations this off-season, the British influence has been waning.

However, with Seb Hines signing a new three-year extension recently and Deakin now arriving too, there is some British presence on the 2017 roster.

>> CHECK OUT DANNY DEAKIN’S PLAYER PROFILE HERE <<

Who is Danny Deakin?

A left-footed attacking midfielder by trade, the 5 ft 9 in pro is a former Sheffield United academy product and made a total of seven starts in nine appearances for Detroit City FC last season.

Racking up a single goal and two assists in the NASL opportunities he was awarded last term, it remains to be seen whether his first outings in a purple jersey will be under Anthony Pulis at Orlando City B.

Much of Danny Deakin‘s success so far has come during his college career, particularly with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

It seems clear that Deakin has an eye for goal with the midfielder scoring seven goals (five winners) for the Gamecocks in 2016 while bagging 11 strikes in 21 starts during his junior season there.

Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel recently, Lions head coach Jason Kreis claimed: “We hadn’t done much research on him [Danny Deakin] previously, but in the past week we spent a lot of time watching film.

“He’s an attack-minded midfielder, left-footed, so [he] really has the ability to make and score goals for us.”

Welcome to Orlando!

Welcome to Orlando, @kdanieldeakin! #NeverHuntAlone pic.twitter.com/P5IxGhxb1X

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 17, 2017

So on behalf of Orlando City UK, welcome to Orlando Danny Deakin, thanks for the follow on Twitter and all the very best in your new chapter at Orlando City SC!

You can follow the midfielder on Twitter @KDanielDeakin!