Just over a week after signing Alexandre Pato, Orlando City SC have recruited their eighth non-draft signing of the off-season – Silvester van der Water.
Signed with Targeted Allocation Money, the 24-year-old Dutch winger arrives at Exploria Stadium on a three-year deal from Eredivisie side Heracles Almelo with an additional one-year option.
NEWS: Silvester van der Water is a Lion. 💧🦁 #VamosOrlando
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) February 23, 2021
A long-term transfer target of Ricardo Moreira and co, Orlando City SC first tried to recruit van der Water in September 2020.
Back then, Voetbalzone claimed Orlando City SC had a bid turned down for van der Water.
At the time, the player himself was very candid about making a switch to Major League Soccer.
In quotes reported by Dutch source De Telegraaf, van der Water said: “It appeals to me, the country, the weather, but also the players with whom I can play, such as Nani.
“In addition, the MLS has become a very nice competition. I hope it will turn out well.”
As we’ve grown accustomed to with high profile Orlando City SC incomings, Lions CEO Alex Leitão teased van der Water’s arrival with another signature cryptic tweet in Dutch on Sunday.
Goedenavond allemaal, wens een fijne week voor ons allemaal! ( ogen )
— Alex Leitao (@alexleitao) February 21, 2021
Who is Silvester van der Water?
Silvester van der Water is a 24-year-old Dutch right or left winger. He arrives from Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie.
A native of Blaricum, the wide man joined Heraclieden in July 2018. This was after starting his senior career with Almere City in 2016.
Left footed, according to Transfermarkt, Silvester van der Water stands at 6 ft 0 in. He is currently represented by Wasserman.
Silvester van der Water departs his native Netherlands having tallied 124 appearances across all competitions for both Almere City and Heracles Almelo.
During his time at both clubs, he scored a total of 34 goals and provided 19 assists too.
Digging deeper into van der Water’s stats, prior to making the step up from Eerste Divisie to Eredivisie, the winger scored 12 goals in 26 appearances for Almere City (2017/18) according to this Wasserman feature.
On this evidence, it’s immediately apparent that van der Water is a capable goal getter from wide.
>> CLICK HERE TO VIEW SILVESTER VAN DER WATER’S PLAYER PROFILE <<
NEW SIGNING 🚨 | Silvester van der Water joins @OrlandoCitySC! 💜🦁💛
⚽ RW / LW
📅 30 September 1996 (24)
🇳🇱 Netherlands
⬆️ 6 ft 0 in
🇳🇱 @HeraclesAlmelo ➡️ @OrlandoCitySC 🇺🇸
👕 Jersey # (TBC)VIEW PLAYER PROFILE 📕: https://t.co/d9UBXouzqN#OCTwitter #OrlandoCity #MLSUK pic.twitter.com/TbFHY1Sha5
— Orlando City UK (@Orlando_CityUK) February 23, 2021
The fans’ view
With #OCTwitter currently reacting to Silvester van der Water‘s announcement as an Orlando City SC player, we gathered the best tweets following his arrival.
https://t.co/acdZ5OKH2D pic.twitter.com/idV00quGEO
— Alex Leitao (@alexleitao) February 23, 2021
Welcome, @Silvestervdwat1! Patience pays off ⌛️ #orlandocity https://t.co/2Xn1M8AoMq
— Ricardo Moreira (@ricardomore1ra) February 23, 2021
Let’s go @Silvestervdwat1 great to have a Dutchman on the squad! Welcome to OC!
— pieter breitenfelder (@PBreitenfelder) February 23, 2021
— Tiro De Esquina podcast 🎙🎧 (@tiro_city) February 23, 2021
Welcome Silvester!
I’ll have a thread about the pickup a little later, but this is another really exciting forward addition for #OrlandoCity. With VDW and Pato in the fold, you can plausibly claim that Orlando has the deepest attack in MLS. https://t.co/jwQnKKNKXr
— Evan Weston (@EvanLWeston) February 23, 2021
VAMOSSSS pic.twitter.com/YcVPtBU1vs
— Méndez Masterclass (@Cgoodwin188) February 23, 2021
#VamosOrlando let’s keep going!!!
— Leo (@Jedi_SZN) February 23, 2021
Uhhh why do we keep signing forwards like Dike ain’t coming back?
— Noah (@FurballNoah) February 23, 2021
LETS GOO pic.twitter.com/bYsfORYYi6
— The Eolian (@OrlandoMeme) February 23, 2021
We are just stacked on the wings we have like 3 options on either side then Pato and Tesho who can play out wide as well.
— Adzter (@Adzter961) February 23, 2021
Welcome to Orlando, Silvester!
On behalf of Orlando City UK, we wish Silvester van der Water the very best of luck in Central Florida.
You can follow the forward on his own personal Instagram and Twitter accounts too.
We still await official confirmation regarding which jersey number van der Water will wear at Orlando City SC.