Within weeks following Gonzalo Pineda’s departure from Atlanta United, so too ends prolific striker Giorgos Giakoumakis’ time with the club, officially transferring to Liga MX side Cruz Azul today. Giakoumakis was able to capture the hearts of Atlanta fans immediately to start the 2023 season, filling a large portion of a Josef Martinez shaped hole with his similar, nearly psychotic style and obsessive, lethal finishing. His comparable candor in front of a microphone made him an instant presence in the club, and his ability to back it all up made him a figurehead of a “new” Atlanta United.
Now, that era is over. Atlanta’s second striker to hold a Designated Player spot, Giakoumakis banged in 19 goals in the regular season and playoffs in 2023, bringing fresh life up top to a team that sorely needed it. But like his predecessor, it was a recurring sequence of injuries that kept fans from enjoying his play for an extended period of time. Through 16 matches this year, Giakoumakis started in only half, unable to put his undoubted goal scoring ability to full use for the Five Stripes.
Off to Cruz Azul for a reportedly large payday, Atlanta United’s front office can now double down on the promised changes that started with the departure of Gonzalo Pineda. The club didn’t have much room to work before, but an open DP spot can do a lot for a club. Another prolific goalscorer will be necessary for Atlanta to recapture success, especially in a squad capable of creating so many quality chances as this.
Let’s take a swing at finding Atlanta United’s next Designated Player. Who should they be looking for, exactly?
To start, Atlanta needs a forward. Jamal Thiare and Daniel Rios are decent options in the meantime and definitely off the bench, but neither will bring you the push that the team needs, or what a potential DP can provide. Using the spot elsewhere on a team that has been solid defensively (when not injury plagued) and able to generate chances (Atlanta is fourth in the Eastern Conference in xG difference per 90 minutes). So, go big and get someone to throw up top and finish them.
Potential players should skew slightly on the older side, too. As the Giakoumakis signing indicated, Garth Lagerwey’s Atlanta United has shifted the view away from the gold panning of young South American potential towards players who have proven themselves more, particularly in Europe. A new striker should have the physical ability to take on the defenders of MLS, to fit that “bulldozer” template Giakoumakis demonstrated so well. A lack of an injury history would help as well, although we all know how that could change.
Ultimately, this could all be irrelevant if the club decides to let a new manager have a say in such a big signing, and holds off until one is brought in. For now, though, we’ll operate under the assumption that the club wants the DP spot filled, which they’ll need sooner than later to achieve any of the more lofty goals set for this season in particular.
With that, let’s have a gander at who might be on the radar:
Adam Buksa, Antalyaspor (on loan from Lens)
This one might sounds familiar. Adam Buksa formerly led the line for New England in their 2021 Supporters Shield run, and scored 35 goals across 73 appearances in his time with the Revolution from 2020 to 2022. The current Polish international was sold that summer to RC Lens for a reported $10 million fee (sounds familiar!), but only made eight appearances for the Ligue 1 side before being sent on a year long loan to Antalyaspor in Turkey for the 2023-2024 season. In Turkey’s Süper Lig, Buksa has 16 goals and 2 assists this season across 33 appearances. He even got on the scoresheet this afternoon for Poland in their opening match of the Euros against the Netherlands.
Taylor Twellman reported in April of 2023 that Buksa had eyes on a return to MLS, and while that move didn’t materialize, his options could still be open. Atlanta has had an eye for Polish internationals as of late (see Slisz, Bartosz) as well as dipping into the Turkish league to find talent (see Lobjanidze, Saba).
The 6’4″ striker would be an immense help up top to an Atlanta side that hasn’t found the back of the net off of a set piece this year, and besides his aerial ability has shown to be crafty on the ball as well. At only 27, a longer term stay isn’t out of the question, either.
Erik Expósito, Slask Wroclaw
Yep, that’s right, we’re dipping back into Poland. 27 year old Spanish striker Erik Expósito is a mainstay at Ekstraklasa side Slask Wroclaw, having been with the club for nearly five years since his free transfer there from Las Palmas. Most recently, the 6′ 3″ forward captained the side in their 2023-2024 campaign, scoring 19 goals and giving 6 assists across 33 matches, leading the club to a remarkable second place finish in the Polish top flight, tied for first on points but losing out in tiebreakers. Check out this article by Total Football Analysis for a more in depth scouting report on the rising forward.
Expósito announced a couple weeks back that he would not be returning to the club upon the expiration of his contract this summer, putting him back on the market. There was interest from other Polish clubs, but Expósito refused them all, remaining dedicated to his soon to be former club. Could his next venture be in the United States?
Oli McBurnie, Sheffield United
After five years at Sheffield United, striker Oli McBurnie’s time with the Blades is coming to an end this summer. The 28 year old Scot made 21 appearances in the most recent Premier League season, starting in 15 of those and managing six goals and three assists. His limited production was mainly due to a series of injuries, making him less ideal of a candidate for a team looking for a healthier striker this go round. In the previous year’s promotion season, McBurnie contributed 13 goals in the Championship across 32 appearances.
The 6′ 2″ striker’s availability has drawn interest from previously mentioned Turkish side Antalyaspor, and Sheffield reportedly still has interest in keeping his services. A potential McBurnie signing seems similar to Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who joined from Nottingham Forrest on a DP deal after a limited impact in the side’s Premier League season.
Andre Silva, Real Sociedad (on loan from RB Leipzig)
Admittedly a bit less likely than the others, Andre Silva is a Portuguese international forward that has most recently completed a season-long loan to Real Sociedad in La Liga from Bundesliga side Red Bull Leipzig. Silva has fallen in form over the past few seasons, ever since a 28 goal season in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021 earned the now 28 year old a nearly $25 million transfer to Leipzig. Silva hit double digit goals the next year with 11, but in 2022-23 scored only four times.
Red Bull sent him on loan this past season, but separate calf and hamstring injuries limited his availability for the club, and the striker scored 3 goals in only 727 minutes of play. Despite a purchase option on the table, Silva announced that he would not be returning to Real Sociedad, leaving him open for a move that would be beneficial to all parties. Last summer, Silva confirmed that he denied offers from the Saudi Pro League in favor of staying in Europe, closer to his native Portugal. This coupled with a recent injury history make his fit in Atlanta less likely than others, but a player of his experience could surely do well in MLS.
Taty Castellanos, SS Lazio
File this one under even less likely to happen, but perhaps the biggest guaranteed success of anyone on this list. Taty racked up 59 goals and 24 assists during his 134 games with NYCFC, spanning five seasons with the club and culminating in an MLS Cup victory. Castellanos left midway through the 2022 season on loan to La Liga side Girona, where he continued his form with a 14 goal season, four of those coming against Real Madrid in the same match. Taty moved to Lazio last summer, in a contract lasting until 2028.
It’d take some serious cash to pry him from the Serie A side with that much time left, even if he only started in less than half of his matches this past season. It’s also a big ask for the 25 year old to put his European career on hold to return to MLS, which would realistically be seen as a step backwards in his trajectory. More recently, Girona has been trying to bring the Argentine striker back, as reported by outlet La Lazio Siamo Noi. The report claims Girona put in a 15 million euro offer, only for Lazio to counter with 20 million and the desire for Catellanos’ role to improve next season. Would Taty be worth a mind-changing level of cash?
Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid
Let’s have some more fun. The prolific French striker has grabbed the attention of fans of any MLS team needing a boost up front, and for valid reasons. A reported release clause of just over $16 million on his contract with Atletico is fairly within the range of possibility, and Griezmann has spoken openly in the past of his desire to move to MLS as his final stop before retirement. Fellow countryman Olivier Giroud is joining LAFC at the start of July, who’s to say Griezmann won’t make the jump as well? Now at 33, several MLS clubs are reportedly lining up offers to get the World Cup winner to join their side. Will Atlanta be one of them?
While unable to bribe him with a top tier NBA (or NFL) team at the moment, Atlanta have also never gone after the aging international star types, previously touting the “MLS 3.0” mantra of signing young DPs instead. Maybe you make an exception this time, though. Atlanta clearly haven’t struck gold with as many DPs throughout the club’s history as they’d hoped, and a move like this would bring back a lot of eyeballs on to the club after recent turmoil. He’d have a huge impact, too- not the completely washed star some teams have gone after in the past, Griezmann had a 24 goal and 8 assist season across 48 games in one of Europe’s top leagues.
So, will it happen? The odds don’t seem great given the amount of competition there’d be for Griezmann, and even the striker himself seems set on at least one more go with his current side. But it’s not an unrealistic move to imagine, either. I’m not one to crush dreams. Imagine away.
Moral of the story here is that there’s still plenty of fish in the sea. Maybe I’m underestimating the ambition of Atlanta’s brass to go after a big name. Or maybe they’ll dig even deeper in search of a gem. Who else is out there that you’d like to see Arthur Blank pull out the checkbook for? Sound off your suggestions for Garth and the gang in the comments section below.
I know AZ is trying to keep Pavlidis but it’s worth a shot to get in the same conversation as EPL teams, Roma, Barca, and Benfica. It would likely be our most expensive signing ever and more than Griezman but never know till you ask.
Pineda is gone just bring Josef back.
I think we should sign someone on a short term deal (through the end of this season) if we get someone before a new manager is hired. That way they are easy to offload. I don’t want to get stuck with someone who the new manager doesn’t like and then we’ve got to wait another season or two to get all the pieces the new manager wants. I think it’s more than likely that Garth with pass on signing a DP if he doesn’t have a new manager in place by the summer transfer window unless he is getting them at an unbelievable deal.
This works the other way as well if not more so: high quality/demand players aren’t typically interested in signing deals when they don’t know who the coach will be, especially when there is a sense of dysfunction.
None of these after the first few seem plausible.
I honestly don’t expect that we (or anyone) are capable of signing a striker of the caliber we’re used to and need (avg a goal every ~90 minutes) for a 3rd time straight. But we have the money and analytics to sign someone who scores at least a goal every two games, so that will be my benchmark.
Sorry he’s leaving but I don’t blame him. This season is likely done and he wants to be on a winning side. He did have injury issues but we were still better with him than without. Good luck to you. I’d like to see a similar replacement but without the injury issues. If Alamada is leaving then get on with it so we can replace him. Good luck to him as well. I would have liked to see what this team could have done under a successful manager.
Are there any promising strikers in the academies?
tmimi and gordon (along with brennan of course) have all shown shown well. if this signing drags out (which i think is fine if it helps us make the right choice), i would love to see those guys get some minutes.