Daryl Dike focused on Orlando City despite EPL interest
Interest from English Premier League clubs aside, Orlando City striker Daryl Dike sees his loan to Barnsley as a tremendous learning experience. If a move from MLS back to England happens, well, Dike isn’t focused on that right now.
Fresh off nine goals in 19 appearances in the English Championship, Daryl Dike is back in MLS and with Orlando City. His focus isn’t on all the rumors about him parlaying his loan experience back to Europe but rather, taking what he has learned the past six months and helping Orlando City win an MLS Cup.
It is humble stuff from Dike, who scored last week for the United States national team in their 4-0 friendly win over Costa Rica.
“Oh no, I mean for me, I’ve always kind of said I want to play the top competitions, play against the top competition and, you know, play under a great staff,” Dike told reporters on Wednesday.
“And thus far, you know I’ve been blessed being able to play with guys like Nani, you know, won tons of competitions and for me I just kind of want to be able to compete at all levels.
“Whether it be playing in World Cups, you know, playing in all these top competitions in the world – so I think that for me I just want to continue to grow as a player and you know be able to do those things.”
Last year as a rookie, Daryl Dike scored 15 goals in 17 competitions for Orlando City. He has now been capped twice by the United States national team.
The transfer rumors tend to get a bit loony at this point in the offseason but the interest in Dike is legitimate. He combines strength and good speed along with a fantastic understanding of positioning and timing his runs.
Even on a team that plays a rough and rugged style such as Barnsley, Dike’s intelligence and poise stood out.
“I mean for me I mean I think all that stuff is kind of extra noise is I think obviously for me, you know, I I’ve been blessed to be able to go to the experience at Barnsley and then play with the national team as well so I mean I’ve had lots of experiences,” Dike said.
“I kind of told myself from the beginning that I wanted to bring back everything that I’ve got there, learned about the new culture, learned about the new style of play and then come back here and then kind of see how see how I’ve grown.
“And I think in terms of the extra things happening, that’s just for me it is when the time comes. For me right now, it is about focusing on acclimating back to the team.”
How long he is with that MLS team, however, remains to be seen.
Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex’ on Twitter @KristianRDyer