Does Orlando City have three blind mice running its scouting department?

Real Madrid managed to find Yan Diomande. Orlando City, according to the man who helped develop him, struggled to arrange a look when he was playing just up the road.

Daytona Beach. Not the dark side of the moon.

Todd Eason, the former DME Academy director, told FourFourTwo he approached Orlando City representatives about Diomande training with Orlando City B. His account: they kept delaying.

The player in question went on to Leganés, RB Leipzig and Real Madrid. This week he was named among the nominees for CAF’s young player of the year. Not a bad return for someone Orlando apparently couldn’t fit into the diary.

The diary was full, was it?

If Eason’s account is right, whoever was responsible for finding talent might want to check whether the planned White Castle in Lake Nona is hiring. Although, to be fair, spotting a slider coming across the counter requires decent vision too.

Seriously, what does a prospect have to do to get an audience? Send a carrier pigeon? Turn up at the training ground wearing a giant arrow? Have Real Madrid call first?

Orlando City has built a pathway and a network across Central Florida. Families are entitled to ask how that system responds when a promising player is brought to its attention—and whether anyone checked the messages.

Other MLS clubs came calling

Sporting News reports that Diomande trained with Colorado and Charlotte. Eason described a Colorado offer; sources close to Charlotte told the outlet the club also made an offer, but negotiations proved difficult.

That makes the question even more interesting. Clubs can spot a player and still fail to agree on his next step. Was the problem access, the deal, or a pathway that didn’t offer what the player wanted? And what, exactly, happened when Orlando heard his name?

Over to you, Orlando

We haven’t found an Orlando City response to Eason’s account. The club has a chance to put its side on the record: who was contacted, what happened next, and did Diomande ever receive the look Eason says he sought?

Central Florida families spend plenty of time and money chasing the right opportunity. They deserve to know whether the doors are open when talent comes knocking—or whether the only thing moving is the inbox to the bottom of the pile.

So, did Orlando drop the ball on a future Real Madrid player? Or does this story tell us more about the choices and obstacles facing young players than one club’s scouting? Have your say.