USA-based Nigerian-born Canadian international, Tesho Akindele has left FC Dallas to join Orlando City, as he seeks a bolder impact in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Footballlive.ng gathered that the 26-year-old fair-skinned striker, who signed for Dallas in 2014, is hoping to return to the top spotlight he had few years back when he was voted the league’s best new player.
Akindele, who was named the 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year, helped Dallas capture the 2016 Supporters’ Shield and US Open Cup titles.
He was eligible to play for Nigeria through his parents, but opted for an international career with Canada, for who he has 14 caps and two goals.
Akindele has appeared in 133 games (67 starts) during five seasons in MLS, from which he has scored 24 goals and added eight assists.
He scored three playoff goals in nine appearances and was selected by Dallas with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.
He was offered a new deal by Dallas after the season and presumably would still need to be signed by the Lions. Akindele is listed as a forward but can also play on the wing, which is one of Orlando City’s greatest needs, in a reclamation project. After a promising rookie season in 2014, when he scored a career high seven goals to go along with three assists in 26 games (18 starts), it has been almost all downhill since.
His goal totals since then have been five in 28 games (14 starts), six in 31 games (15 starts), four in 29 games (15 starts), and two in 19 games (five starts).
Akindele now makes the switch for $150,000 and hopes to add potent points in opposing boxes for The Lions.
With attacking troubles in 2018, Orlando will ewxpect much from an attacker with 133 MLS games under his belt.
The Lions also ended the 2018 season with no natural left winger, and he can fill that void, alongside more reinforcements that are on the way.
