Atlanta United announced today that they’ve loaned out wingback Aidan McFadden to USL Championship side Louisville City FC. This marks the second loan for McFadden in a year, as he was previously loaned out to Memphis 901 for the latter part of 2023.
Per the club, Atlanta has two periods in which they can terminate the loan before the start of the secondary transfer window. Louisville has a permanent transfer option in the summer.
The move gives some more roster freedom for Atlanta United and also potentially gifts McFadden much more playing time, something he was adamant about in the preseason. However, Atlanta’s fullback depth is dicey at the moment, with Caleb Wiley, Brooks Lennon, and Ronald Hernandez being the primary three options.
Atlanta United is no stranger to successfully converting players to that fullback position, though, so don’t be surprised if any variety of current players eventually become the next piece in that puzzle. Some options would include Efrain Morales and Matt Edwards, the latter who is just returning to captaining the 2’s from college and who has already been called up to the first team via an emergency/hardship term against Toronto.
Best of luck up in Louisville, Aiden!
Other than gutman, has there been a player that we loaned out (other than to the 2’s) and their situation/development improved? More than ready to be wrong but I can’t come up with another one for the life of me. This feels much more like “roster space” than it does player development. Happy he may get some real minutes though. I have always liked this kid.
Miles Robinson – Charleston Battery
thanks … forgot about that one
I may just be an FO apologist, but to me it makes sense given that he’s currently behind Wiley/Lennon, and Hernandez/now Abram. Get him some playing time somewhere he can get it, at the highest level you can manage.
Also forgot to mention this in the reaction to the Chicago game, but I think that was the way to handle young player integration: Wiley has been there a couple years, and now Cobb at 18 years old starting at CB because he’s shown he’s ready for some significant time to be 2nd behind Gregersen, but surrounded by veterans on all sides.and then Fortune getting the nod for first CM sub, but again with the likes of Muyumba, Almada, Lobjanidze, a settled Cobb, all around him.
Welp. Another young player that the org has given up on. I hope he shows enough to make Louisville want to keep him, otherwise he’ll be getting his release at the end of the year from AU. Doing a loan with 2 periods in which Atlanta can end the loan is weird as normally the loaning club can “end the loan at any time”. Best of luck to McFadden on his new team and on whoever he plays for next year, which won’t be Atlanta United.
Doing right by the player to get him more reps than are available in Atlanta is not “giving up.” It’s quality personnel management.
I mean, he’s 25 and not getting first team minutes. I think he’s a known quantity at this point and if he was going to be a major contributor, I think we’d have seen it already.
The flip side of my own point is that maybe he’s a late bloomer and starts killing it when he’s 30+, who knows?