News broke last night (right as we were wrapping up the Loud and Proud Orlando Podcast) that Alex Freeman was finally getting his opportunity to go play in Europe. According to Tom Bogert of The Athletic, “Villarreal has agreed to a deal to sign USMNT right back Alex Freeman from Orlando City, per sources. Deal worth north of $4m plus around $3m in add-ons + sell-on clause. Freeman was set to leave for free when contract expired end of year.”
💣🇺🇸 BREAKING: Villarreal has agreed to a deal to sign USMNT right back Alex Freeman from Orlando City, per sources.
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 27, 2026
Deal worth north of $4m plus around $3m in add-ons + sell-on clause.
Freeman was set to leave for free when contract expired end of year https://t.co/SVujJ68tzj
Sources have informed LPO that Freeman was pulled from the second training session yesterday in Mexico in anticipation of the move all but solidifying that it was basically done. So let’s ask a couple of questions as we look toward the future.
What does this mean for Alex?
I think this is a great opportunity for Alex. We know ever since he started doing well with Orlando City that he wanted to make the jump to Europe. Villarreal was one of the first clubs interested in him and one of the first to make a bid, so it makes sense that they were the ones to close this deal. They have a need at right back currently so it looks like he should get some decent playing time with them before the World Cup, which is important if he wants to make the squad.
We also heard Alex liked the idea of joining Villarreal so it wasn’t a hard move to make happen at the end of the day. He gets his chance to play in Europe, while also tuning up for the World Cup in the hopes that he is one of the names on that list. With preseason starting almost two weeks ago, he should be in decent shape for when he gets over there.
What does it mean for Orlando City?
Orlando City was forced to take the deal if you think about it. Alex only had a contract through the end of the year and could sign a pre-contract in the summer. The nice thing for the club is that he wanted to make sure that Orlando City got something for him, something he didn’t need to do. If Alex wasn’t in a contract year, his fee could have easily fetched $8-$10 million before discussing add-ons or sell-on percentages but unfortunately, that wasn’t the situation we were in.
So now that Alex is gone, what happens next? That’s the question everyone is asking themselves, with some cursing that “the team is selling everyone” or “looking to lose”. This, to me, is one of the bigger turning points of the offseason.
So far there have been three: the first was the club saying goodbye to Gallese, declining Jansson’s option and bringing him back on a lower number, letting Kyle Smith walk etc. The cleaning of the roster as I like to call it. This also included moves like trading Dagur Dan Thorhallson to Montreal for a pile of GAM—a move that we found out after was because Dagur Dan wanted guaranteed playing time, which the club couldn’t provide at the time, and had issues with the locker room, trading Thomas Williams to Nashville for a draft pick and GAM, and letting go a slew of young players (Shak Mohammed, Favian Loyola) to clear the decks.
The second big turning point was finally getting Luis Muriel off the books. This team was handcuffed by his low production and high salary number, and it didn’t improve much from season to season. Even if the replacement isn’t ready now, getting him off the books was important.
Now the last turning point is selling Alex, which most fans knew was going to happen. Ricardo came into the season saying it was a reload but this is feeling more like a rebuild. Sure, there are still some steady pieces at the club that have been here for a few years but most of those players are gone.
So what does Orlando have on the roster now that could help? In the short term, Zakaria Taifi and Jaylen Yearwood are your obvious options. Even though Yearwood doesn’t have a contract currently, he could easily be signed and have two younger guys at the right back spot. When the Dušan Stojinović move gets over the line, that’s another guy that can fill in. Tahir Reid-Brown could also look to fill in on either side.
But the bigger question that needs to be answered, does this team have the talent on the roster in that spot to compete? I think the team would be better off, at the very least, bringing in an MLS veteran who can put in a solid shift there. Whether that’s to start or whether that’s to back up Taifi. I, personally, would like to give Taifi a chance. He’s shown glimpses of brilliant play but I don’t want to put all that pressure on him if he’s not ready for it. The best solution may be to go into the market and get a right back that’s going to allow the team to continue its same play. Maybe even go into the league and offer GAM or a cash transfer deal to get a known thing. We have a decent amount of GAM now and can swing a deal to make something work. But if we’re going to do a GAM deal or a cash transfer, it should definitely be a starter. If it’s a cheaper GAM deal, a back up right back would be fine at that number.
Regardless, with what the team decides, they have to make that choice now but have the backup in case the original plan doesn’t work out. This team, on so many occasions, have had an initial plan but not always had depth or a backup plan to make a change/make it work. Prepare this time by making sure you have that flexibility and this team can navigate its new hole at right back. Either way, I’m happy for Alex and this new opportunity but it creates more work for a front office who has been quite busy already. Let’s hope the plan is already in motion and this is all just a hair pulling moment that quickly passes!
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