Houston Dynamo makes play to get Lodeiro and Halliday from Orlando City SC | OneFootball

Two players with contracts at the beginning of the off-season are headed away from Orlando City SC. All that’s needed is to sign two contracts.

From the international rumor mill, it doesn’t sound like this is the idea of the Orlando City SC front office. Houston Dynamo FC has been working steadily to acquire the contracts of midfielder Nico Lodeiro and defender Mikey Halliday.

To stir the rumor, the San Jose Earthquake earlier sent queries about acquiring Lodeiro. But the Dynamo took first place in the upcoming two-player deal with Orlando.

In their toughest weeks in the 2024 season, Lodeiro supplied what the Lions needed to finish the season strong. In a match against FC Cincinnati, scouts had directed the opponents to favor a back-three formation against Orlando.

At that point in the season, City didn’t have an effective answer for squads battling them using three defenders. Yet Lodeiro came in for 38 minutes and put up a fight. He got off two shots, a tackle, and a dispossession with only 29 touches.

He finished the season appearing in 34 matches, starting 16.

Houston could use a wily fighter like Lodeiro. Last season fifth in the MLS Western Conference. However, they play in a conference dominated by the Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy, in that order. They would benefit from help to get to the next level of performance.

Oct 2, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City defender Michael Halliday (26) and Philadelphia Union defender Kai Wagner (27) collide in the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

They also would deal for defender Mikey Halliday.  The homegrown Orlando player got most of his MLS minutes with the first club in 2023. He played in 18 games, starting in half of them. He tallied two assists.

However, last season he played in only six games for 105 minutes. While he remains a great Orlando soccer story, moving to the Houston Dynamo could broaden his vision.

The idea of Halliday playing for the Dynamo would be to help him hone and release the competitive qualities that kept him with the Lions all these seasons.

The Orlando City SC roster is changing. But the mission to win it all in 2025 is not.