Over the weekend, Orlando City made a trade to acquire Forward Giles Barnes from the Vancouver Whitecaps. Barnes is a four-year MLS veteran, who played for the Houston Dynamo for three and a half seasons before coming to Vancouver in the summer trade window last season. Barnes has scored 33 goals and earned 15 assists in his MLS career.
Barnes provides a boost to Orlando City’s attacking weapons, giving the Lions another talented face inside the box. He also provides experience up front and could be a good source of guidance for both Cyle Larin and Carlos Rivas.
“Giles [Barnes] is a very exciting player. I would tell you that a couple of years ago I felt he was easily for me one of the best players in the league,” Kreis said. “He’s an attacking gifted player, has great pace, great strength on the ball, and typically makes really good decisions with it. These are the types of players we’re looking to add to Orlando City; the type of players who are always comfortable on the ball but are also willing to work for the team.”
As for whether or not Barnes will be considered for a starting position on Sunday, Kreis laughed. He noted that he doesn’t see players as starters and nonstarters, and that he expected Kreis to be competitive for his position.
“I do see Giles Barnes competing right away,” Kreis said. “For me, there aren’t starters and nonstarters. There’s a bunch of team members that are in contention to be starting on the weekend and that changes week by week.”
