Yesterday, respected Portuguese soccer journalist Bruno Andrade tweeted that Benfica’s Franco Cervi is finalising a switch to MLS with Orlando City SC leading the race for the Argentina international winger.
In a translated version of Andrade’s original tweet, it said Oscar Pareja‘s old club FC Dallas have “also shown interest” in Cervi and risk “disrupting the business”.
Benfica está em vias de finalizar a transferência de Franco Cervi para a MLS; Orlando City é o clube que está mais forte na disputa pelo argentino; FC Dallas também demonstrou interesse e arrisca atrapalhar o negócio
— Bruno Andrade (@brunoandrd) December 22, 2020
Contributing for Goal.com, DAZN and A Bola, Bruno Andrade has 39.1k followers on Twitter. Since his tweet, it’s fair to say Andrade has caused excitement on #OCTwitter.
So far this off-season, Orlando City SC have tied up permanent deals for Alexander Alvarado, Antônio Carlos, Andrés Perea, and Rodrigo Schlegel.
Although this off-season is still very young, Oscar Pareja‘s Lions are still yet to recruit any new personnel.
Kamal Miller has been the Lions’ only outgoing since our 2020 end-of-season roster update.
That said, it’s important to note that Dom Dwyer‘s Designated Player-grade salary is now off the books.
This means City have room to bring in a new marquee star but could that be Franco Cervi?
Orlando City UK found out a little more about this new transfer target who is reportedly interesting the Orlando City SC Front Office.
Who is Franco Cervi?
Franco Cervi is a 26-year-old Argentine left winger or attacking midfielder. He currently plays for Portuguese giants Benfica in the Primeira Liga.
A native of San Lorenzo, Cervi originally signed a six-year deal with The Eagles in September 2015. Back then, he had a huge €60 million release clause slapped on his head.
A product of Rosario Central’s youth system, Franco Cervi started his senior career there in November 2014. All in all, he made 42 league appearances for Canalla, scoring 5 goals.
Left footed, according to Transfermarkt, the diminutive Franco Cervi stands at just 5 ft 5 in. Cervi is also of Italian descent, holding an Italian passport too.
To date, Cervi has made 102 Primeira Liga appearances for Benfica, scoring 11 goals and contributing 13 assists.
In his time at Benfica, he’s also performed in the UEFA Champions League (25 appearances, 4 goals) and UEFA Europa League (7 appearances, 0 goals) as well.
Earlier this year, the Birmingham Mail reported that Aston Villa were interested in acquiring Franco Cervi for £13.5 million. This was after he fell out of favour with Jorge Jesus.
Do Orlando City SC need Franco Cervi?
Right now, Orlando City SC have just three out-and-out wingers in Alexander Alvarado, Chris Mueller, and Nani.
While Tesho Akindele, Benji Michel and Mauricio Pereyra can do a job out wide, the Lions are clearly keen on strengthening this area with another specialist.
After all, the Lions were heavily linked to Dutch left winger Silvester van der Water back in September.
As we already alluded to, Dom Dwyer’s huge salary is now off the wage bill so Orlando City SC are able to compete for another Designated Player arrival.
Additionally, Nani is set to embark on the final year of his three-year contract. This means there needs to be an heir to our Portuguese captain’s throne.
Could 26-year-old Franco Cervi be Luiz Muzzi and Ricardo Moreira‘s succession plan to Nani?
One thing is for sure. If Franco Cervi does arrive, it would be a huge addition, one that FC Dallas site Big D Soccer claims could be worth up to €10 million.