Orlando City appear to be close to adding another central defender to their backline, with the Orlando Sentinel reporting on Monday that Brazilian defender Paulo André is in Florida to finalize a contract with the expansion club.
OCSC general manager Paul McDonough told the Sentinel that André is in Orlando and undergoing a physical.
“We do have Paulo André in the city,” McDonough told the Sentinel. “He is undergoing a medical this morning in hopes of finalizing contract negotiations.”
André, 31, has spent most of his career in Brazil, but last year he played at Shanghai Shenhua, making 23 appearances for the Chinese club. He spent 2009-2014 at Brazilian power Corinthians, making 100 total appearances and helping the Sao Paulo-based club to the Copa Libertadores and Club World Cup titles in 2012. Prior to his stint at Corinthians, André spent three years at French Ligue 1 club Le Mans.
Should he sign, André would join Aurelien Collin, Gustavo, Tommy Redding and Conor Donovan as OCSC’s five center backs. He’d be the fourth Brazilian on the club’s roster, teaming up with countrymen Kaka, Gustavo and Pedro Ribeiro.
