Sporting KC
Rumor: Sporting KC Make an Offer for Israeli Center Back
Another rumor that may or may not be true. Sporting Kansas City this time are linked to a central defender.
Sporting Kansas City fans are desperate for player movement. As of this writing, the team only has 18 players rostered for the 2026 Major League Soccer season, including four goalkeepers. One position where they are particularly deficient is center back. A rumor we missed buy Twitter sleuth, and sometimes Kansas City Soccer Journal contributor, Blaine Riffle found, would shore up some of that center back quality.
A report out of Israel has Sporting KC making an offer for Or Blorian, a 25-year-old CB who plays for Hapoel Be’er Sheva. The 70+ year old club currently sit second in the Israeli topflight. They are also the defending champions of the Israel State Cup.
The story from Israel says that Sporting KC are “willing to pay the league leaders compensation and sign him before the season in the United States opens.” Blorian is out of contract this summer and could leave on a free transfer at that time. The Israel Premier League season will end later this Spring. To pry Blorian loose early, it would seemingly require at least a nominal fee, as he’s a regular starter in their backline. The story goes on to say, it’s more likely he would leave this summer when his contract was up.
Who is Or Blorian
The 6’2, 25-year-old center back holds Israeli and Portuguese citizenship. As such, he has elected to represent Israel internationally. So far, he has played extensively in their youth National Team setup and has four caps for the full National Team. Before coming to Hapoel Be’er Sheva he played for Hapoel Tel Aviv on loan, and he arrived permanently from Hapoel Petach-Tikva FC in the fall of 2022.
In the 2025-26 season, Blorian has made 19 appearances in league play and an additional five in all competitions. All his goal contributions have come in the Israel Premier League with one goal and four assists this year.
Rare CB Highlights
It’s hard to find “highlights” of a CB. You almost want them to anonymously dominate a game. In this brief run of clips, you can see Blorian intercepting the ball and getting forward a bunch. It almost looks like they play in a back three with how often he’s going forward and from how wide his starting position is. Transfermarkt says he exclusively plays CB, so he is not a right back. It’s likely just skewed to put something exciting in a clip.
@skillset.footballedits Or Blorian | אור בלוריאן First 2 league games, 2 wins ✅🛡️ #כדורגל #כדורגלישראלי #הפועלבארשבע #אורבלוריאן #ליגתהעל
This actual rumor is from back on January 13th. Much like the other rumors of the offseason, it may mean nothing. But Sporting KC only have two CBs on the roster (and no left backs, one right back, etc.) so they need to starting signing players sooner than later.
Rapha Wicky Update
Today, Daniel Sperry of the KC Star reported that new head coach Rapha Wicky is still waiting on his P-1 Visa.
#SportingKC says Raphael Wicky still does not have his P-1 Visa. Hopes to be able to make him available sometime next week.
— Daniel Sperry (@danielsperrykc.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T19:18:38.412Z
Sporting KC start their season in just over three weeks, and the coach is still not officially allowed to coach. That, and the aforementioned 18 rostered players isn’t enough to hit the Senior Roster Minimum. It absolutely must get busy in KC in the coming days/weeks, or the team will be forced to sign guys just to meet the roster compliance deadline on February 20th.
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Another potential target at a position the club needs help and depth. This would be wonderful if it works out.
But I still have this growing fear things are not going well for the club. The lack of shape and acquisitions just make the club appear to be a disorganized messed. All this “new” already feels worn.
I’m really trying to stay positive. But I’m starting to crack.
Interesting rumor. Good height, looks quick, a knack for the ball, good vision, a nice touch and passing, and defensive positioning based on what that reel shows.
Is it just me or does SKC always have issues with getting people the proper visas? This has seemed like an issue as far back as when we signed Thommy and Willy. We always seem to be slower than almost every other club at getting our people here.
It feels the same way to me too.
I was hoping it would have felt a bit different with the new CSO. What concerns me the most is the note that we haven’t met the minimum senior roster numbers. Ugh.
If we were Miami or LA it would of happened just by saying they wanted someone. You think they would of held up Messi,Suarez,Son…. I think not.
Reddit says this is happening but they couldn’t figure out a transfer so he’s coming on a free during the summer window.
If the Reddit rumor holds true, then I can be excited about that. But it doesn’t do much to assuage my concerns for the first half of the season. The club doesn’t owe me a detailed plan on the inner workings of the club. But I think they could be saying so much more than nothing. Even if this wasn’t a ‘rebuilding year’ it just became one by default.