TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Orlando City SC’s big offseason continued Tuesday with the Lions announcing the acquisition of defender Lamine Sane from German Bundesliga side SV Werder Bremen, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate.
The 30-year-old center back has made over 270 appearances across European top-flight leagues, spending the last two seasons with Werder Bremen after playing seven years for FC Girondins Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1.
Born in France, Sane — who also has experience as a holding midfielder — has played in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. And on the international level, he’s been capped 25 times for the Senegal national team, helping them qualify for this summer’s World Cup.
“Lamine will significantly strengthen our backline,” general manager Niki Budalic said in a statement. “He brings tremendous experience at the highest levels of European football and we believe he will fit right in with what we’re trying to build in Orlando.”
The 6-foot-3 defender was recently suspended by Bremen’s technical staff for two unexcused absences from training while suffering from an illness.
He joins a backline that includes fellow center backs Jonathan Spector, Jose Aja and the recently acquired Amro Tarek.
Orlando, who lost Kaká and Cyle Larin from last year’s team, has added a lot more new faces ahead of their highly anticipated 2018 campaign, including defenders RJ Allen and Mohamed El-Munir, midfielders Oriol Rosell, Josue Colman and Sacha Kljestan, and winger Justin Meram, among others.
MLS Fantasy Impact: You can add Sané ($5.5) to your team today. Start playing!
