According to reports in the Spanish press, 23-year-old forward Matheus Aiás Barrozo Rodrigues from Watford is set to sign with Orlando City on a free transfer. Matheus, as he’s known, didn’t actually play for Watford, as he has been on loan to Club Deportivo Mirandés — located in Castile and León, Spain —since 2018.
Although we couldn’t get a solid confirmation of the Spanish reports that the rumored Orlando City signing is Matheus, there’s a lot of smoke on this one, not the least of which is Ricardo Moreira following him on Instagram. He also fits all of the criteria we’d heard about the player Orlando was targeting — a younger player who isn’t a big name and doesn’t come with a lot of fanfare, but with upside despite maybe being a bit of a project.