Orlando City appear to be on the verge of bolstering their back line, with Orlando-area sports anchor Christian Bruey reporting on Tuesday that the will sign Stoke City center back Dionatan Teixeira.
According to Bruey, Teixeira, 23, has been on trial with Orlando for the last week. If signed, he wouldn't be eligible to play an official match for the Lions until the secondary transfer window opens on July 4.
A Brazilian-born Slovak, Teixeira has been with Stoke since June 2014. He’s only made two appearances in his two seasons with the English Premier League club, missing time during the 2014-15 campaign due to a broken foot and getting sent on loan to League One club Fleetwood Town this past season.
Teixeira played for several clubs in Slovakia before moving to Stoke, most notably scoring three goals in 35 appearances in two seasons with Dukla Banska Bystrica in the Slovak first division. He represented Brazil on the youth level, but has since switched to Slovakia, representing the country’s Under-21 team six times in 2013 and 2014.
Orlando City and Stoke announced a formal affiliation earlier this month, a partnership that includes possibilities for player-exchange opportunities. The Lions had deep ties to the Potters even before the two clubs entered into a formal partnership -- OCSC founder and president Phil Rawlins spent 15 years as an owner and director of Stoke City and head coach Adrian Heath began his playing career with the club. Also, defender Brek Shea, Orlando City B head coach Anthony Pulis and OCB captain Lewis Neal all played for Stoke.
