Dom Dwyer has become the most expensive player in MLS history after signing for Orlando City for a deal that could net Sporting Kansas City around £1.2m

The 26-year-old, from King's Lynn, will be playing alongside Brazilian legend Kaka after Orlando completed a deal that eclipses the previous highest fee paid when Minnesota parted with around £500,000 for Kevin Molino.

Dwyer flew to Orlando on Tuesday night to complete the deal and is expected to play in the Lions' match in Atlanta on Saturday.

'When you spend that type of investment on a player, you expect he's going to play,' joked Orlando chief executive, Alex Leitão. 'The whole thing started when one day (general manager) Niki Budalic called me and said, 'hey, we may have a chance to bring Dwyer'. From the very first second we said, this is the man, we want him. Then we started a long, long, exhaustive negotiation that had tons of chapters, and finally we finished today.

'He's an All-Star, he's a top scorer, he already knows the league, he doesn't need time to get adapted — not with the city, not with the team, not with the league — so, for us it was a no-brainer.'

Dwyer, who recently made his debut for the US national side, has been Kansas' top goalscorer in the last three seasons. He is in the final year of his contract with the MLS which is set at $668,750 per year, based on the latest numbers released by the MLS Players Union in April. There is an option to extend Dywer's contract by a further year and Leitao hopes the striker will see out his career in Orlando.

'I can see Dom Dwyer staying here forever,' Leitão told the Orlando Sentinel.

Dwyer is married to US women's national team forward Sydney Leroux, who also plays for FC Kansas City in the National Women's Soccer League. Dwyer's link to Orlando already has sparked talk on social media about whether the hometown Pride will pursue Leroux.

Leitão said Leroux never was mentioned in negotiations with Sporting Kansas City about Dwyer.

'I know that people have curiosity around this,' he said. 'She's a great player, but she's playing for Kansas, we have to respect this. And we have good players on our roster as well.'