Orlando City owner hints at hot pursuit of Mexican star Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez: "Why not?" ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC majority owner Flavio Augusto da Silva re-opened the possibility of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez joining the club with one key phrase during halftime of the club’s 2-0 home defeat by FC Dallas on Saturday. The “Will they? Won’t they?” saga has dominated this month’s transfer window speculation in Florida, with various sources insisting the want-away Manchester United striker is either the team’s top target or hopelessly out of reach.
But Da Silva served notice the Lions are definitely in the market for the Mexican superstar, who would potentially be a massive coup both for Orlando and the league.
“Many clubs in MLS are working to have this guy,” Da Silva confirmed during a halftime briefing. “But we are at the beginning of the conversation and, as you know, the less we talk about the situation the better, because we are in the middle of negotiations. “We hope in one or two weeks to be ready to talk about Chicharito in a different way.” Despite the “softly-softly” approach, the sure inference is that Orlando are a serious contender to lure Hernandez away from Europe, as Manchester United has made it clear he has no future at Old Trafford following his one-season loan at Real Madrid.
The player’s representative indicated earlier this week that Hernandez would prefer to stay in Europe, but talk of a big-money contract to switch to MLS has apparently moved the focus back to the US – and Orlando.
“Why not for Orlando, why not for MLS?” Da Silva said. “Of course he’s a great player that every club in the world would like to have, and we’d love the chance to have him, too.
“Right now we don’t have anything done, and many clubs have interest, including us. So we’ll see if there is a possibility and then we’ll move forward.”
Whether Orlando are at the “beginning” or “in the middle” of talks with Hernandez and his advisors, it now seems clear the Lions are determined to make a major bid to line up the Mexican alongside their Brazilian star Kaká.
“We are talking about many other players and other alternatives,” Da Silva added. “But Chicharito would bring [us] not only a good player but a good connection to the Mexican community.
“When we talk about a player, we always talk about the numbers but, as I say, the less we talk about this now, the better.”
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/07/11/orlando-city-owner-hints-hot-pursuit-mexican-star-javier-chicharito-hernande