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Orlando City close in on Antonio Nocerino

By Marco D'Onofrio

BARI, ITALY - NOVEMBER 24: Antonio Nocerino of AC Milan in action during a tornemnt between FC Internazionale, AC Milan and AS Bari at Stadio San Nicola on November 24, 2015 in Bari, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)
BARI, ITALY - NOVEMBER 24: Antonio Nocerino of AC Milan in action during a tornemnt between FC Internazionale, AC Milan and AS Bari at Stadio San Nicola on November 24, 2015 in Bari, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images) /
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After weeks of speculation about a possible MLS move for Antonio Nocerino, it looks as though the Milan midfielder is set to join Orlando City.

It had been reported for several weeks that Antonio Nocerino was considering a move to Major League Soccer. D.C. United were said to be interested in the midfielder, and had filed a discovery claim on him back in January. The club had even sent an entourage to Italy to watch him train with his current team, AC Milan.

However, a deal could not be worked out between the player and the team, as they failed in their attempts to come to terms. As a result, Orlando City quickly stepped up to the plate in a bid to try and land the Italian. Nocerino played alongside Kaka at Milan, and Orlando are eager to reunite the two in MLS.

According to reports out of Italy, a deal is nearly in place and the 30-year-old could be headed to Florida sooner rather than later. Italian transfer expert, Gianluca Di Marzio, is reporting that the two parties are merely working out the finer parts of the contract and that Nocerino is preparing to start a new life abroad.

The midfielder has been scarcely used by Milan head coach, Siniša Mihajlović, this season. Nocerino has featured in just two league matches for Milan, starting in one of them and coming off the bench in the other. Since making the move to Milan in 2011, he has been loaned out on three separate occasions and is now looking to leave the San Siro on a permanent basis.

Orlando City narrowly missed out on the playoffs in their inaugural MLS season, finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. They will kickoff the 2016 campaign on March 6th, when they host Real Salt Lake.

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