We need to talk about Pedro Amador

As part of his plan to rebuild Atlanta United, Garth Lagerwey made has made multiple mentions of his desire to sign “prime-aged players”, those in the 24-to-29 age group.

Such players won’t always command high price tags (a la Giorgos Giakoumakis, who was a success despite his injury history, and Alexey Miranchuk, a player that has been a little better than OK at best since his arrival). Several of them will be more under the radar signings, not “sexy” names but those that play at positions of need who could be of benefit to the club.

Exhibit A: Pedro Amador, who has paid off in dividends since signing for Atlanta United as a free transfer. Amador was tasked with filling a spot left vacant by Caleb Wiley’s sale to Chelsea and subsequent loan to sister club Strasbourg. Wiley was the poster child of the Atlanta player development system, one of the initial signings to the academy who worked his way up through to ATL UTD 2 and eventually evolved into a reliable starting LB at MLS while playing his way on to the U.S. Olympic Team.

Enter Amador.

Sure, there was the natural adjustment period. But over the last several weeks, the 25-year-old Portuguese native and former Sporting Club academy product (its most famous alumnus a talented forward named Cristiano Ronaldo) has been in blistering form, recording a primary assist in six of the last eight matches across all competitions.

His movement and subsequent pass to Saba Lobjanidze that led to Friday night’s equalizer against Inter Miami was absolutely elite:

He also had this perfect cross to Brooks Lennon in the Wild Card match against CF Montreal:

If Garth Lagerwey wanted a proof of concept that his plan could work, he found it in Amador, who is locked in until 2026 with an option for 2027. And this is a player that has been here just short of four months and hasn’t had the benefit of a preseason with the team.

To put Amador’s play into further perspective, we learned a few days ago that his total compensation — annual base salary plus signing and guaranteed bonuses — averages out to just $242,612 for the 2024 season. Lagerwey isn’t completely averse to signing an expensive player — he and Atlanta’s incoming general manager will have two DP slots at their disposal this winter — but it’s these value adds that will be just as important to the club as they look to return to competitive football.

Assists aside, Amadoe showed his versatility on Friday, moving up higher up the pitch following Lennon’s exit with a shoulder injury and shifting once more when Stian Gregersen was forced to exit.

Amador probably wasn’t supposed to play against Miami in the first place. He came off injured on Tuesday in the 49th minute against Montreal but recovered to play the entire match against Miami. But maybe that’s not surprising for a player that got absolutely clattered against Nashville SC on September 14 but was back on the pitch a week later at the New York Red Bulls.

“Pedro battled through a nasty knock the other day (against Montreal) and to get himself fit to play again, it’s massive. It’s really, really commendable,” Rob Valentino said on Friday after the 2-1 loss to Miami.

It’s still early days in Pedro Amador’s time with Atlanta United. For now, at least, it looks as if Lagerwey has found a gem.