The MLS secondary transfer window is almost here, bringing the chance for Atlanta United to improve its squad heading into the final stretch of the season.
While the team closing the 13-point gap between it and miraculously scraping into a play-in spot seems highly unlikely, the moves this team makes this summer will lay the foundation for next season.
A novelty that I’m sure is refreshing to many Five Stripe fans this window is how fast Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson is getting down to business, having already completed several moves with more expected soon.
With the roster needing much work before being anything remotely close to competitive, let’s talk about what moves the Five Stripes should make in this window.
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A look at the depth chart
Before we dive into the moves, let’s refer to the current depth chart given the moves the club has already made. NOTE: These ratings are purely subjective from my observations and opinions of these players.
And now that we know what we’re working with, let’s dive into what I believe to be the priorities this window.
Fill in the wings
After Xande Silva was traded to St. Louis CITY in April and Edwin Mosquera was loaned to Millonarios, Atlanta United was left very thin on either wing. With the team returning to the 4-2-3-1 formation it started the year in, Miguel Almirón and Saba Lobjanidze appear to be the starting wingers. That leaves homegrown Luke Brennan, who has shown flashes of potential in his six appearances with the first team this season, as the sole winger depth at either side. Sure, Brooks Lennon could play as a right winger, but do we really want to see him out of position when he isn’t good in position?
At the bare minimum, the team needs a starting left winger. While Saba certainly has the heart, his performances simply haven’t been good enough, recording just six assists in 23 appearances. He is arguably more effective on the right side, but he can’t play there if Almirón is already filling that spot. With a new left winger, the team would then have some depth at the position, but could probably do with another depth piece on the right wing, given that Almirón and Saba are both frequently called up by their respective national teams, and Atlanta plays at Inter Miami during the October international break.
Given that the team does not have a designated player slot available, signing a winger who has the qualities to make a major difference will be tricky. Ideally, the club should get a player whose primary position has always been as a winger, not an attacking midfielder who moonlights as a winger. This person should be fast, technical enough to beat defenders in 1v1 situations and preferably not send their shots into the stratosphere most of the time.
Seeing as the Five Stripes have scored just 27 goals in 23 games (seventh-fewest in MLS), there is much that needs to improve in an attacking sense. Perhaps a breath of fresh air on the left wing can help the team pose more of a threat in the attacking third.
Reinforce the midfield
Plain and simple, Atlanta United needs a destroyer No. 6. It has been missing a ball-winner in midfield who could disrupt opponents and recover possesion. This was the role that Bartosz Slisz was brought in to perform, but he hasn’t quite stepped into the role in the year and a half that he’s been here. It seems the Five Stripes could be about to get their man for this role after reports surfaced of the club closing in on signing Hull City midfielder Steven Alzate.
However, with the club waiving Mateusz Klich, Atlanta United may want to make another signing to add depth in the midfield. Assuming the club signs Alzate, it will have four available midfielders (Jay Fortune is out for the season), which it could survive the season with, but any injuries could make things problematic.
The short answer to “what does Atlanta United need in a midfielder” is still the same: A clone of Darlington Nagbe. Unfortunately, my sources tell me Atlanta United currently doesn’t have cloning technology, so I’ll settle for the next best thing: a press-proven midfielder who is composed under pressure and has a strong passing ability to help get the ball to the team’s front players in good positions.
Use the buyout
This isn’t a signing, but it’s a mechanism that allows the team to offload inefficient contracts, provide budget charge relief and open possibilities for new additions in the future. Each MLS club can exercise two contract buyouts per season. Atlanta currently has one available after using the first to buyout the remaining salary owed to Derrick Etienne Jr after trading him to Toronto last year.
While using both buyouts each year isn’t a requirement, the team shouldn’t let its second one go to waste when there are a couple of potential candidates on the roster.
The most likely target, in my opinion, would be center back Stian Gregersen. The 30-year-old Norwegian center back has played just eight of Atlanta United’s 23 games this season and has been out with a quadriceps injury for over three months. Since his arrival before the 2024 season, Gregersen has had an extensive injury history that has made it hard for him to stay on the pitch. This inconsistent availability, coupled with a hefty $920,000 contract that runs through 2027, makes him a prime target for this season’s second buyout.
But there is another player on this roster that could be a buyout candidate if the team can’t find any buyers for him. Attacking midfielder Alexey Miranchuk was brought in from Atalanta last summer to replace the highly talented Thiago Almada. Having just helped the Italian club win last year’s UEFA Europa League, the expectations were high for Miranchuk, but after almost a year in Atlanta, he has yet to impress. Recording just six goals and eight assists in 37 appearances for the Five Stripes, the return has been underwhelming, and watching him play is largely uninspiring. He seems to play the game at a slower pace than the rest of the team and lacks the creative spark needed to be an outstanding No. 10 in MLS.
The main obstacle to buying out Miranchuk is that he is on a very large designated player contract. With an annual salary of $4,885,441 guaranteed through 2027, buying out the 29-year-old Russian international would likely require a significant lump sum payment.
Buying out a DP is certainly not without precedent. Chicago Fire bought out Xherdan Shaqiri in 2024, and LAFC just bought out Olivier Giroud; however, both buyouts were exercised with months left on the respective player’s contract, not years. The closest example would have to be Toronto FC’s buyouts of not one but two of its DPs this season. In early July, Toronto announced that it was mutually terminating Lorenzo Insigne ($15,400,000) and Federico Bernardeschi ($6,295,381), two of the highest-paid players in the league. Both of them had a year left on their contracts.
So Atlanta certainly could buy out Miranchuk, but it would likely be a complicated process, especially if he does not have another destination in mind. However costly that ends up being, Atlanta United could sure use the DP slot he has tied up.
I watched the Rooted In The Stripes episode that came out recently. Some very interesting tidbits can be pulled, particularly in the segments behind the scenes of interviewing players they’re interested in signing:
They want the team to be high pressing, so are looking for defenders that can allow them that freedom to press high, and realize that they aren’t able to do that right now. I wonder/assume they realize that Miranchuk is another reason they aren’t able to press high.
They say in this interview (I assume with Juan Berrocal) that they’ve “signed the right center back” for this, and looking for the right pairing with him. I’m sure we’d all be surprised if this wasn’t the case, but sounds like they expect Mihaj to be the default RCB, and if this signing with Berrocal comes through, they’re expecting him to be the default LCB.
Kinda found the last part interesting, where Chris Henderson talks about shock it hopefully makes to the rest of the locker room, making trust from the DPs, and in particular: “…the reaction of the players who ‘hey, I’m not going to lose my position, I’m gonna get healthy, find a way to get on the field’ …”. It’s kinda calling out Gregersen for maybe taking his position for granted.
And considering how Deila has been part of the process, I would expect the same. Putting the right people in place, getting them bought into his system, and making sure the players understand that no one is safe. Complacency is dangerous, especially at this high level. Gotta be ready to play when it’s your turn but also show that you deserve those spots.
Is there a color between yellow and orange for Lennon?
Peach, maybe?
Can we acquire a cohesive plan that fits the roster and the players will execute during the window? That seems to be the thing we need most.
As Gravity Shack mentions, a couple players probably won’t make a huge enough difference, BUT I do think that figuring out the midfield will have the largest visible immediate impact. Specifically, moving on from Miranchuk and either moving Almiron inside (maybe the less ideal option) or signing a player that plays with greater speed and creativity. Miranchuk is out there trying to play untimed chess, but really needs to be playing team deathmatch first-person shooter. Sadly, he doesn’t have the right skillset to compete here against high presses and parked bus defenses (or even just defenses that recover shape quickly in transition).
Figuring out what to do behind whoever that 10 is will be just as important. I think Slisz is fine, so is Fortune, and Reilly I think has the potential. I love Muyumba as a wild card, but with the way we play and the shaky backline, it makes me nervous. Maybe this new guy will be the answer for that in 2026.
Everything else will require serious rebuilding to make a difference.
Agree
For one, I still don’t see Miggy as a winger and he’s shown time and time again he wants to go central and control play. That’s a CAM’s job. I still say put him there, Miranchuk at the 8 if we keep him and let him dictate play up the field, and reinforce the wings. You don’t need big DP signings, in all actuality I think we should be looking for lower cost MLS veterans who know this league instead of constantly looking at other countries (not a dig, but having local talent helps…see Dax)
We need FB depth too. I can still see Lennon and Amador getting the starter roles (save me the Lennon comments please) but we need options there. True defenders but ones that will get into the attack and run those overlaps with the wingers.
And lastly, CM/DM’s who can actually control the ball.
Buyout SG for sure and get another legit CB. AM and especially BS have improved this year but midfield reinforcements never hurt. What happened to Enea Mihaj, is that still a thing?
My bad, I saw that we actually signed him.
Mihaj was officially announced by the team yesterday. Don’t know if he is eligible to play this weekend or not. I would think he is eligible since he has starting working out with the team. I don’t know if Deila will actually play him this weekend, but hopefully he will definitely play when League Cup starts next week
Mihaj will be eligible to play this weekend. Only question right now is his fitness. He started training this week.
looks like Mihaj has not played since April 18th, but was on the bench for the team’s final match on May 16th. So he may not be 90 min fit for a little bit.
Yes. Mihaj was officially signed and began training with the team this week. He will be eligible for Saturday’s game.
I do wonder about what we can do with our current wing issues. Deila seems to want to play inverted wingers, but I would think that would help our wingers take more shots on goal. It seems like Almiron is trying to avoid taking shots on goal and wants to distribute the ball to another player. It is also odd to see that Saba seems less aggressive playing on the left side. I wonder if switching Almiron to LW and Saba back to RW can help alleviate some of this issue.
Interesting
you could argue that the biggest need this summer is a plan. this roster has way more talent that a 4-8-11 record. not that this is a top four roster by any stretch of the imagination. but with the front 4 and the passable midfield, this should be a team sitting at probably 7 or 8 right now.
deila cannot seem to crack the code as it were, of what will take this collection of footballers and turn them into a cohesive unit…an actual team. we’re over halfway thru the season and there is little to know chemistry in our attacking 5 or 6. latte is starved for service every match. miranchuk and miggy seem to be playing in different stadiums most of the time.
instead of solidly in contention for the playoffs, we’re fighting DC and Montreal for bottom of the barrel in the east. a player or two is not going to change that.
yes – there are several areas (mentioned in the article) that we need to improve in. and i hope we do this summer. but until deila can figure out how to manage this group of players (or the fo finds someone who can), a few spots in the standings are about all we can hope for.
Honestly, the most fair conclusion here. I’m still not a fan of Deila, and this “throw-shit-at-the-wall” approach because the talent is there, they just have no direction. Get that figured out and the pieces will start falling into place (which is my assumption).