Following on from the news that Efraín Morales seems to be on his way to CF Montréal, Atlanta United seems close to adding to its squad in an important way.
Per Ben Jacobs of GIVEMESPORT, Hull City midfielder Steven Alzate is close to joining Atlanta United for approximately $2.02 million USD plus add-ons.
Alzate, 26, plays primarily as a defensive midfielder and started 21 of Hull City’s 46 matches in the EFL Championship. Before signing for Hull in September 2024, Alzate spent five years at Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League, where he made 51 appearances. During his time with The Seagulls, Alzate had two loan spells at Standard Liege, where he played under Atlanta United Head Coach Ronny Deila. While playing under Deila, Alzate racked up three goals and five assists in 29 games across all competitions.
Though born in London, Alzate represents Colombia at the international level. He debuted in a 1-0 friendly win over Peru in November 2019 and has seven caps for Los Cafeteros. His last game for the national team was in September 2022.
Brief tactical analysis
At first glance, Alzate seems like a highly technical midfielder who can maneuver well in tight spaces. He handles pressure well and releases some solid passes, displaying impressively accurate long balls. Some of the defensive film that I have seen on him suggests that he is quick to react and close down attackers when they have space to shoot in and around the box. He seems skilled at reading plays and making key defensive interventions.
Highlights
What do you think of this potential new signing? Let us know in the comments below.
[…] do you think of this signing? Let us know in the comments below, and check out our original article on him for additional details, including a highlight […]
[…] Jacobs originally reported on July 21 that Alzate was “close” to joining the Five Stripes. The London-born former […]
[…] spot for Atlanta United, and clears off a rather large chunk of salary space. With the floated rumors of Steven Alzate from Hull City being a target of Ronny Deila’s, this buyout paves the way for a bit more […]
[…] REPORT: Atlanta United close to signing midfielder Steven Alzate from Hull City […]
[…] REPORT: Atlanta United close to signing midfielder Steven Alzate from Hull City […]
It looks like this guy has played under Deila before, so he should be able to hit the road running, once he gets the visa
Considering much of the current squad’s behavior, best we can hope for is hitting the pitch jogging.
Morales leaving feels very much like what happened when Campbell left where another team likes the price of a homegrown who has skill and they’re taking advantage of that. We have that (we have 2 actually) that we’re not fully utilizing until recently (except cobb, who went to play with the 2’s for some reason).
We have a new CB coming in, lots of talks of Abram leaving, Gregerson getting back to fitness and Williams still being that backline leader (save me the comments about what he brings, I still think the issues are with the Deila system).
And I say all this, yet again, with the knowledge that all if it has to do with the system employed. No player will matter if the coach doesn’t create a system that works and the supporting cast.
If this gentleman played under Deila previously, I think that should quiet any notion (or hope, depending on your preferences) that Deila will be replaced.
And its actually one of the few instances we’ve seen over the years in which the manager seems to be having at least some influence over player selection, which is good in a vacuum.
However, its going to take a lot to justify getting rid of Morales to make this happen, especially with the likes of Klich and Abram on the books (among others).
I’m not saying I like it either (Tech Alumnus, I’m very much angry we lost Morales), but to be fair, I think the problem with Klich and Abram is that unless you can get someone else to buy them, we can’t get those numbers off the books until the contract ends. I don’t think even a buyout gets them off the books since we’re in the middle of the season.
Klich cost next to nothing for Atlanta. Basically, majority of his salary is being paid by DC
I think its about 1M or so collectively between the two? I guess the bigger point is that we shouldnt be in a spot where we have to offload promising homegrown talent to try and salvage a season.
I don’t think at this point they’re trying to salvage a season. This is about next season and beyond.
He took up an International & Senior spot, likely what drove this. If someone else picks him up off waivers, ATL have next to zero hit on the salary as DC still picks up the majority of his salary.
it seems odd at first, but with another midfielder needing that spot that Deila supposedly wants, it all starts to make [more] sense.
I have no problems with Atlanta waiving Kilich, I was just making a point that Atlanta was barely paying anything, but since we need the international slot, it makes sense to cut him loose.
Show. Me. Mode.
When is he getting here?
Transfer window opens on the 24th, so I guess it depends on how quickly he can get a visa.
Please expedite the damn visa
Seems this is the reason we are losing Morales?
I still need to see the highlight reel, but i personally need to see evidence he brings to our midfield the things we’ve been missing, either:
Press resistance, ability to turn upfield and progress the ball
Or strong defensive presence, destroyer ability.
Preferably both. I have yet to see anything that differentiates him from Muyumba/Slisz/Fortune though. Which although is nice, doesn’t help our situation. I hope I’m wrong.
Fortune isn’t really a DCM. He is more like a CM/ACM, so I wouldn’t exactly put him with Muyumba and Slisz. If the new guy is close to Nagbe in form, it will help a ton in our porous midfield.
Well, it all depends on how Deila (or whoever we hopefully get as a new coach) uses him. The midfield always seems out of sorts. A defensive midfield is more like Larentowicz whereas Nagbe was more of a holding mid. We’re using Slisz as a combo of both but I see him less as a defensive mid. Muyumba is a central mid, Fortune is a central mid. We don’t have a true DM (that I can see) so is the new system a 2 CB/1 DM where the backs can actually get up the field?
I don’t think Muyumba and Slisz as a DCM either. But as long as the new guy can play average DCM, it should help our midfield a lot.
Well, Alzate is supposedly a CM/CAM/CDM (in that order I think, it’s unclear), so my point still stands in that we have a lot of CMs who are more box-to-box or attacking minded, and pretty much none who are that destroyer type a la big red. So if he’s not the destroyer, I hope he’s really tidy on the ball, but that hasn’t jumped out immediately in the quick 5-10 minute articles/stats I’ve read.
We’ll see if Slisz turns into that destroyer, since he has the motivation and the direction for that, but so far that hasn’t really been his type of play for the most part.
Edit: I didn’t read sd2atl’s comment first, but yeah basically what he said
Ok, Finally found some hard stats that feel more promising:
https://www.fotmob.com/players/789567/steven-alzate
Here, vs other midfielders around his level (championship league), he’s rated very high in defensive actions, successful dribbles, and pass accuracy. He did similarly under Ronny Deila in Standard Liège. Slightly more concerning is an average to below average performance stat at being dispossessed.
Also, looks like Morales is a money grab (he has some worth) in a field of CB’s that we can choose from and use along with the new guy coming in. $450 GAM + sell-ons’ isn’t a bad deal for a guy who was recently playing for the 2’s. Montreal saw what they got with Campbell from us, guessing they’re trying it again.
The type of player we need in the middle of the pitch