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Who Is This 22-year Old With 12 Goals In 28 Games That Leeds Are Trying To Sign? Everything You Need To Know

Scout Report – Cyle Larin

Leeds United are reportedly interested in bringing in Orlando City FC’s Canadian striker Cyle Larin to the club in an unanticipated move.

The striker has been in good form in the MLS, scoring 12 times in 28 appearances for the Floridian club and has stated that he wishes to leave North America for Europe to test his skills further.

Here’s what we know about the 22-year-old so far.

History

Larin was born in Brampton, Ontario and was picked up at the age of just 12 by League1 Ontario, or Sigma FC as it was back then. He started his football education in earnest down in the USA, in 2014 at the age of 19 with the Connecticut Huskies, going on to play 39 league games and scoring an impressive 23 goals.

In 2015 he was the first pick of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, signing for Orlando City and going on to break the record for most goals by a rookie in his first MLS season, having netted 17 times in 27 games and winning the MLS Rookie of the Year Award.

In total, Larin has gone on to play 87 games in the MLS and has scored 43 goals, marking him out as one of the major talents in the league. Since 2014, Larin has also been capped 21 capped times by Canada and has scored 5 goals at international level.

Style Of Play

Larin is a big, powerful forward and suits the No.9 position perfectly. Not easily buffeted off the ball, he can lead the line no problem and definitely backs that up with a good eye for goal as well as a cool and strong finish.

His physical prowess means that we can much more accurately expect him to transfer his impressive scoring rate from North America to England, given that the rough and tumble of the Championship shouldn’t really pose him too many problems.

His Future

At just 22, his best years are still ahead of him, but with a build like his, he is highly unlikely to be still at his best in his mid-30’s. So the time is now to get to Europe and make the most of his talent over the next 6-8 years.

What level he can play at on these shores will not be proven until he arrives, but I think he’s well worth a shot at Championship level for starters and he will have a fine striker in Pierre-Michel Lasogga to attempt to depose in the centre-forward position at Elland Road.