Orlando City will immediately regret this fringe player's departure | OneFootball

Thomas Williams may not have played much for Orlando City over the years, but that's exactly why his departure hurts as much as it does.

On Monday, it was announced that the homegrown centre-back had been traded to Eastern Conference rivals Nashville SC, in exchange for the twentieth overall pick in next week's Major League Soccer SuperDraft and up to $100,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) if certain performance-based metrics are met.

Sadly, given that the 21-year-old has amassed just six senior appearances across his five seasons in purple, this move doesn't come as much of a surprise.

Above all, though, it feels like a huge opportunity squandered by Orlando.

Nashville's new Walker Zimmerman?

You only have to look as far as Alex Freeman to appreciate what trusting youth can add to your team. Amid recent developments at his new club, Williams has every chance of enjoying a Freeman-like breakout himself.

After failing to agree to a new deal with Walker Zimmerman, Nashville are in urgent need of fresh blood at centre-back capable of performing on both the national and continental stage. However tall an order it'll be to replace the two-time Defender of the Year, Williams will eye this as his chance to make a name for himself.

He certainly comes with pedigree. Boasting an abundance of experience as one of the most athletic, formidable defenders in MLS NEXT Pro, he's also shown plenty of promise during his sporadic appearances for Óscar Pareja's senior side.

Keeping a clean sheet on his full debut against an admittedly poor Tampa Bay Rowdies during our victorious Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign, Williams also helped a ten-man Orlando cling on to a point away to CF Montréal back in April. His lack of senior minutes is, if anything, more of a reflection on his former coach, who's always valued experience at centre-back above anything else.

Of course, there's every chance that Williams will need time to adjust to his new life in Nashville. Orlando, though, will be made to pay for his departure immediately.

Just another draft pick

"These selections are a key part of the club’s strategy to build competitive rosters across all levels in the pathway," the club reported on their official website upon Williams' departure, eager to reassure supporters that their faith in the draft is well-founded.

With the likes of Cyle Larin, Daryl Dike, Duncan McGuire, and Joran Gerbet all excelling straight out of the collegiate system in the past, Orlando's conviction that this deal will come to fruition certainly seems justified.

But the club already boast the fifth, ninth, and fourteenth selections at next week's ceremony, anyway. By the time we get to that twentieth pick, won't we already have identified and selected the players we deem most capable of adding actual quality to our team?

If Orlando manage to trade a combination of their first-round picks for the first or second overall selection, then I'm willing to eat my words. But I'm still convinced that Williams will make more of an impact in Nashville next season than any of Orlando's soon-to-be-discovered draft picks will.

Shooting ourselves in the foot

If last season made one thing clear, it's that Orlando were already alarmingly light at centre-back. But that situation has just become even more critical.

Unbelievably, the trio of Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and David Brekalo now represent our only remaining natural options in that position. Given our defence conceded a whopping 65 goals across all competitions last season, neither of these three fill me with absolute confidence.

Jansson is the certainly the most capable of the bunch, but at 34 years of age, it's not entirely out of order to question how much he has left in the tank. What's more, it's not entirely clear whether Pareja even sees Brekalo as a centre-back, having instead deployed him at left-back last year to cover for our similarly critical lack of options there.

Clearly, Orlando need to add at least two more centre-backs this off-season simply to achieve anything close to a viable playing squad. But that's where they have shot themselves in the foot.

Clubs in this league are still hamstrung by the timing of our off-season, still yet to be aligned with the majority of the footballing world. This means that most targets, still in the middle of their domestic seasons, will come at a premium.

Ultimately, watching one of our own excel elsewhere will be a bitter pill to swallow. Of course, we wish Williams all that he deserves and nothing but the best, but it will be bitter nonetheless.