Photo courtesy of Jon Lorentz/Orlando City SC
By FRANCO PANIZO
The end of Orlando City’s run in the U.S. Open Cup apparently also meant the end of Dom Dwyer’s time with the club.
A day after the Lions were bounced out of the competition with a 5-1 loss at the Chicago Fire, Sporting Kansas City owner Robb Heineman tweeted that Dwyer would be rejoining his club later on Thursday. Dwyer appeared to confirm his departure from Orlando, retweeting several goodbye messages from Lions’ fans as well as tweeting out a photo of him on a plane.
Dwyer’s exit from Orlando should not come as a big surprise. He has been tearing it up in USL PRO since joining Orlando City via loan, and Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes recently told SBI that recalling Dwyer was always a possibility given the forward’s form and the number of games Kansas City has coming up.
“For sure, there’s definitely a possibility because we have (CONCACAF) Champions League starting up, so we have other things that are coming our way,” Vermes told SBI. “Nothing is off the table. It’s something we look at our team week after week and see what games are coming up and we kind of have an idea of what we want to do and when we want to do it.”
Dwyer may be heading back to Sporting KC, but that does not mean the 22-year-old will stay there for the rest of the campaign. As part of the clubs’ affiliate agreement, Dwyer and the other Sporting KC players on loan with Orlando City could bounce back and forth if that is what the teams decide is in their and the players’ best interest.
“The way the loan deal is, is that we basically have an open window between both organizations,” said Vermes. “We can bring them back, we can send them back, I can send more guys down from here. It’s not a stringent as if he were playing in a different country. It’s a lot more flexible.”
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What do you think of Dwyer being recalled by Sporting KC? Think his goal-scoring success will translate over? How do you see Orlando City faring without him?
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