Bust out that credit card and get in Uncle Arthur’s yacht, we’re going shopping for some summer signings.
We are now t-minus 17 days from the conclusion of Major League Soccer’s secondary transfer window after Atlanta United made about $50 million in outbound transfers. Despite the big sales of three key pieces, the team has barely added to the overall squad. With the window closing in just over two weeks, let’s take a look at what could be on the Five Stripes’ shopping list.
Designated Players
Let’s talk about the two roster elephants in the room. With striker Giorgos Giakoumakis and midfielder Thiago Almada gone, Atlanta United now has two available designated player slots that should be filled with players that will significantly bolster the squad (especially with the amount of money available to the club).
Recent reports seem to indicate that one of those slots will be filled by Atalanta attacking midfielder and Russian international Aleksey Miranchuk, which would check the “new No. 10” box. However, there are no real rumors for who that second DP could be or what position they will fill. It’s likely the club will use this slot on a striker, with names like Newcastle’s Callum Wilson having been connected to a potential Atlanta move.
However, the club has two strikers that have demonstrated an ability to find the back of the net. Daniel Rios, 29, is now the Five Stripes’ leading goal scorer with nine goals in 22 appearances across all competitions, and Jamal Thiaré, who has been hampered by frequent injuries, has five goals in 19 appearances. Considering the team’s already solid striker group, there is a chance that Carlos Bocanegra and Co. decide to instead dedicate that second designated player slot to a winger.
Although Xande Silva may have won the hearts of Atlanta United fans when he first arrived almost a year ago with his flair and his special celebrations, the Portuguese winger has had a lackluster 2024 season with just two goals in 22 appearances across all competitions. If the Five Stripes can bring in a consistent, high-level left winger that has Silva’s willingness to take on defenders while being more of a goal/assist threat, it will likely see more of its high xG chances converted. Rumor has it goals help you win games.
Fullbacks
In preparation for Caleb Wiley’s $11 million move to Chelsea, Atlanta United signed free agent left back Pedro Amador who will presumably be the starter going forward. However, the club’s only other option at left back is Ronald Hernández who is a more natural right back. If either Amador or Brooks Lennon miss significant time (knock on wood), the squad will be in a tight spot with recently promoted Matt Edwards as the only remaining fullback depth. Signing another left back can bring some depth and competition to the position.
It would not surprise me if the club looks to make some changes at the other fullback position, too. That’s right, I’m pulling out a spicy take: I think it’s fair for the club to move on from Lennon (and I’m not just saying that because of his blundered header in the Leagues Cup opener against D.C. United that led to their second goal).
Although Lennon showed a significant attacking edge last season, he has experienced regression in 2024. The 26-year-old averaged an impressive production of a goal involvement every 212 minutes across all competitions during 2023. This season, his rate has slowed to a goal involvement about every 400 minutes. Part of this has to do with the absence of Giakoumakis who was very adept at getting on the end of Lennon’s beautiful crosses.
The other factor is his predictability. I think teams have figured out how to neutralize the attacking threat that he provides and it’s making him less effective. Just a couple of hours studying his film from various games reveals that he mostly only has three moves in the final third: get onto a pass and first time cross, cut inside and cross or fake cutting inside then push out and cross.
While I doubt it happens during this window, a new starting right back that brings a breath of fresh air to the position with the right balance of both attacking support and defensive solidity would be a welcome addition.
Defensive Midfielder
“But Henry, isn’t Bartosz Slisz supposed to be the club’s long-term defensive midfielder?”
Yes… and no.
While Slisz has been a great addition to the Five Stripes’ midfield, I see him as more of an eight. Yeah, go on. Pull out the Franco Ibarra memes, but let me cook for a second here.
Ever since Almada left, interim head coach Rob Valentino began to deploy Slisz as a more advanced No. 8 alongside either Ajani Fortune or Tristan Muyumba. The 24-year-old Polish international has thrived in this position, demonstrating his ability to break through pressure and contribute to the team’s build up in the final third. In this position, he has helped make the attack more fluid and, frankly, more fun to watch. I want to continue to see that kind of play from him.
If Miranchuk is to be Atlanta United’s next attacking midfielder and Slisz is to play as the eight, that leaves the defensive midfield position to be sorted. The answer on the roster is Muyumba, but the 27-year-old French midfielder has had a rocky 2024 fraught with inconsistency. I’ve thought this for a while now, but Atlanta United could use a José Martínez type of No. 6: a pure destroyer midfielder who covers a lot of ground and can easily lock down the midfield. Think Ibarra on a motorcycle. Bonus points if this midfielder is good at delivering long balls to the team’s wingers.
The midfield is such a crucial part of any soccer team, and Atlanta United has been missing a commanding midfield since the days of Darlington Nagbe and Julian Gressel. With Slisz, the team has a fundamental piece toward building that kind of midfield again, and adding an efficient defensive midfielder to go along with him will take this team to the next level.
Needless to say, this summer transfer window will be key to the rest of the Five Stripes’ season. The club has all of the resources it needs to bring in players that will truly bring lasting improvement to several areas of the pitch. Despite the team’s form this season leaving much to be desired, the roster will likely see some interesting new faces within these next 17 days that should spark some excitement for change.
17 days, y’all.
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Coaching.
To answer the question in the title: yes.
A little more seriously, the only positions not named in the article were CB and GK, maybe CM as opposed to CDM if you want to make a distinction – I’m not. I don’t think anyone would argue especially after this weekend that we are set at the GK position by any means. Our CBs are “okay”, but they’re not without fault either.
I hear you on the GKs and CBs, but I wouldn’t list either of those positions as a high priority this window or next.
I’m comfortable with picking up Guzan’s 2025 option and rolling with a GK corps of Guzan, Cohen, and Hibbert. We have done a whole lot worse. That group outperforms the cumulative value of their contracts against the cap and doesn’t require any international slots or allocation money. Cohen’s contract is guaranteed through 2025 so the club could move on from him at the same time that Guzan could retire at the end of 2025 if we need to bring in an option ahead of Hibbert for 2026.
We may add another homegrown player and a veteran at CB this winter, but I don’t see a lot of turnover happening there. Gregersen, Williams, Abram, Cobb, Morales, and Edwards are a good group that is deeper than most other MLS clubs at the position. Williams is vastly outplaying the value of his contract, Gregersen will be more than fine when he can get some consistency, Abram may be a good option to move this offseason for a less expensive MLS free agent, and the kids have all shown enough to be confident in them.
We need a lot of help in the midfield, and a better midfield will make the defense and goalkeeper look a lot better.
Oh, my point wasn’t at all that GK and CB are high priority, kind of the opposite. My point is that the whole team is terrible to point that the things listed as high priority are 6 or 7 of the total positions on the field. If you group them into general positions:
Striker- high priority
Winger – high priority
Attacking midfield – high priority
Center/defensive midfield – high priority
Fullbacks – high priority
Centerbacks – eh
Goalkeeper – not great
Like, that’s the whole team.
I guess I think of it more in terms of “if we got 2 elite players, where would we expect them to have the greatest impact over our current starters?”
To me, its easily striker and attacking midfield.
I would also welcome an elite attacking and defensive midfielder to play with Slisz.
Yes, I completely agree regarding DPs, but DPs were only one heading out of three. We’re obviously not going to get a DP fullback, but they were mentioned in the article as something we need to address.
Can’t we just take my semi-joke at face value of the whole team sucks, henry (inadvertently or purposefully) basically said as much, and move on?
Thats no fun. I would actually go so far as to say CBs are a position of strength and our fullbacks are totally fine. Lacking in depth, but totally fine.
I think we are also fine at winger and would see an improvement in their play upon upgrading our central midfield areas.
lol, fair enough.
What I see as needs, that I know won’t all be satisfied this window:
This article highlights the rebuild of our fullback corps and the other big changes happening across the roster.
In theory, that would mean that Amador and Edwards could be our only two fullbacks in 2025 if Lennon is traded.
Lennon also has a contract option for 2026. That could be useful for Atlanta United in both scenarios of retaining or trading him. Either way, his team will know what they are getting for up to 2 years in terms of production and cap hit.
Adding Lennon in 2025 would be a high-value move for teams that use attacking fullbacks and wingbacks. He’s a domestic player whose contract is barely over the threshold that requires allocation money and is under guaranteed contract in 2025 with an option in 2026. He turns 27 in September and should at least maintain his current athleticism and productivity through the end of the 2026 season. The raw stats are still favorable for him and a lot of the league still considers him one of the better players at his position in MLS.
I’m not sure if trading Lennon for allocation money right now would help us this offseason since we don’t have a clear successor and right-back options that do not require an international slot are thin.
Exactly, I think people seem to forget the value of having quality domestic players on the roster, especially at lower cap hits. After the number of allocated slots, each international player adds 100-250 Garber bucks to the cap, plus 3+ weeks of visa paperwork.
If we do go the 6 route, Pablo Rosario is on his last year at Nice, similar for Ljubicic at Koln. Both fit the role of a roaming destroyer 6 who can also play forward and at the back while being in the prime years Lagerway is targeting.
I like Lennon, but I do think it was similar to last year where he sort of crashed out in the later half the season. I just think we are overusing him, maybe he will be more effective if he was a 60 min player instead of a full 90 min every single match. I think there are very few players who cover as much ground as he does and remain effective over the course of a full calendar year.
I think moving on from Lennon would have more to do with his contract and less his production. Obviously the actual goals and assists are most important, but his xG+xA per 90 is slightly higher this season than it was last season in MLS play (per FBref). ASA also has him as one of our best players per their goals added metric, and with a team that’s had a ton of injury problems over the years, he’s one of the few who’s regularly available for selection. I disagree his performance on the field has dropped.
Now, his contract is guaranteed through ‘25, so probably to the point of deciding whether to give him a raise/extension, or cash in on some allocation money via a trade. I do agree there’s a chance we move on from him after the season, but more to do with this rather than his on field production.
I agree with those of you who see Brooks Lennon as a reliable, cap-friendly, domestic asset based on his commitment, his work rate and his production numbers when he has those players receiving his crosses and passes actually putting the ball in the net. I agree that he can work to tweak his game a bit to be a little less predictable and defensible by opposing players. But he’s a keeper, IMO.
Here’s my take, then my response:
We can get by with our fullbacks and wingers, but we can’t with our midfield. It’s disjointed, lacks any kind of push in the attack, and struggles to control the ball. Isn’t that the core functionality of a midfield? When we have Muyumba/Slisz/Fortune on the field we have 3 holding midfields just moving the ball back and forth and rarely get into the attack. When we have Muyumba/Slisz/McCarty on the field, we move up a bit more in the attack. Slisz is more of an 8 than a 6, I agree.
Not necessarily certain we should move on Lennon, but we definitely need to utilize him better. Yes, he’s predictable as F, and that’s his core problem. Even I see it when he has the ball. Then you get him like in the Miami game last year dipping into the box to give Busquets fits and scoring goals. Where is that creativity this year? He has the ability, he’s just not being used. I believe Xande needs that core 10 in order to be more successful, though as a winger he should be better on his own. He’s trying to much to be cute.
Having McCarty as a def Mid is the right move. Leadership, controls tempo, works with the backline, leave that one alone. Use a DP to fill the 10 shoes, first and foremost but find someone else (nonDP) that is a combo 10/8 and play them as an 8. They play off each other quite well, get into the attack, but hold the upper mid down and can work with McCarty. Fortune isn’t the guy, he’s a depth piece only. Same with Muyumba (sorry).
I don’t see Slisz as being nearly fast enough to be an 8. On the other hand, he has been inconsistent as holding mid. McCarthy is our best option at the 6, but he is clearly not a long-term option, or even an every game player this year. I believe Slisz is our second best option at the 6.
I disagree with you on Fortune. He is way too young to give up on as a potential every day starter at the 8, and has shown flashes that make me think he could develop very successfully. Muyumba does not seem to have the passing ability to be a first choice option.
As for Lennon, I have come to have a huge amount of faith in him as a foundational piece for us for the next few years. (This is quite a change in my opinion of him; I used to think he was a bad piece of business.) Henry, you say he only has 3 moves, I say that is at least one more than most of the good players in MLS. He is absolutely not a problem for us, IMO he is definitely part of the solution. I do wish he would venture inside and shoot more often, as you point out, SD2ATL. If he adds that back into his game, he would really increase his value to us.
I agree it is too early to give up on Fortune, especially because he is doing this before turning 22. There are growing pains on the way to realizing his full potential. He has done enough to return for his 2025 and 2026 option years. He has the mental makeup and attitude to become a future team captain in MLS.
We need to add competition at 6, 8, and 10 over the next three windows (including this summer). Right now, our midfielders are Slisz, Muyumba, McCarty, Fortune, Torres, and Firmino. We need to add at least 3 midfielders, maybe 4 if McCarty retires or moves to another club.
Let me be clear, I don’t mind fortune, but he’s not a starter…yet. He’s still growing into his position but he needs strength around him to be successful. He can’t control or lead the midfield, it’s just not his strength yet. Maybe at ATLUTD2, but not here.
Thoughtful analysis of our greatest needs. I have soured on Myumba a bit due to his frequent giveaways and poor passing on attempted through balls. McCarty is a better distributor and a better leader on the field (and off it) but not a regular 90-minute player. I would be happy if we bring in a high-quality 6 from the transfer market. I swing back and forth on Fortune. He often does a decent job but not enough to be a regular first-teamer.