On the final day of the Summer Transfer Window, soccer scoop guru Tom Bogert reports that Atlanta United is set to sign James Donaldson, one of the top goalkeepers in its system and the US Youth National Team system, to his first contract.
In many ways, the structure of this signing closely resembles many recent contracts by the club for their top academy prospects. Donaldson will begin his professional career with Atlanta United 2 for the remainder of 2025 through the 2026 season. On January 1st, 2027, Donaldson will receive an automatic promotion to a Homegrown Player contract. Academy and 2s teammates Kaiden Moore and Cooper Sanchez are set for a similar promotion this coming January.
Donaldson’s signing comes as Atlanta United begins a complete overhaul of the club’s goalkeeping depth chart. With long-time starter Brad Guzan in the final months of his contract, back-up Josh Cohen on a team option this winter, and 2024 SuperDraft pick Jayden Hibbert catching the attention of the Canadian National Team, the door looks wide open for a youth movement in Atlanta.
Donaldson’s teammate with the 2s, Jonathan Ransom, also looks likely to sign his first professional contract this winter as he excelled with the 2s during limited starts this past summer. We discussed both of these young goalkeepers in our “Young Players to Watch” article at the start of the season.
Keep an eye on this one, folks.
[…] and the first multi-player announcement of the offseason. Santiago Pita, Jonathan Ransom, and James Donaldson all signed their first contracts and have been active in preseason training with the first team. We […]
[…] very own Grey Gowder wrote a great summary of Donaldson when Tom Bogert first dropped the rumor a couple of weeks ago. Donaldson is the latest in a group […]
Good news for Montreal’s GK prospects in ‘28 or ‘29
Well played, sir.
Congrats to the young man.