It looks as if Atlanta United’s chase for Elías Báez is nearing the finish line.
According to César Luis Merlo, Atlanta has come to a verbal agreement with San Lorenzo on a $3 million transfer for right back Elías Báez. Báez, who’s projected to be a U22 Initiative player, will reportedly sign a three-year deal with an option for two more.
With a month to go until the regular season, there’s been plenty of back and forth between San Lorenzo and Atlanta over a potential transfer. This comes as Báez hasn’t trained for San Lorenzo as he prepares for a move away from the club.
Now, though, Atlanta appears on the verge of signing its second U22 of the window as Báez will slot in on the left side of the defense. The question is what happens with Pedro Amador and how he will factor into things as he’ll presumably be behind Báez on the depth chart after starting at LB since 2024. Of course, Atlanta has another U22 slot to fill after the departure of Edwin Mosquera, so it will be interesting to see what direction the club takes with it.
What do you think? Let us know down in the comments. And be sure to bookmark our Atlanta United transfer tracker for the latest transfer news and rumors as they come in.
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[…] Atlanta United reaches verbal agreement for $3M Elías Báez transfer, per report […]
Having him and Pedro aren’t horrible 1-2 options at LB but what are the odds Pedro could also slot in as a natural left winger? He can dribble, he can cross and i’d say he’s probably more strong in the attack than in defense (when given the ability) so maybe?
Or in some situations play Pedro as a wing back and Báez as a left center back. For that matter, seems like Tata sometimes leans on a 5/3 back line. If he trusts Amador doubt they let him go for the $.
I think Amador could provide depth anywhere along the left; LB, LWB, LW, or LM. He’s done so before in Portugal, but has primarily been deployed at LB. This is just fine, his salary hasn’t been so much he is a waste of resources coming off the bench. Having some quality depth is good with me. I’m not sure we really see him at LW, unless it’s like some late game shift where he’s moved around to make way and cover for others and avoid subbing a LB.
It’ll be interesting to see what they do with the other U22 slot. I’m guessing target a wing? We need a starting LW. I just don’t see anyone playing in Argentina last year who obviously fits that bill, though. Maybe Dylan Aquino, Luis Angulo, or Jose Herrera, but they haven’t really played the minutes that indicate they’d be a lock to start. Baez played almost every minute for San Lorenzo last year, on a team that finished 3rd in GA (7th in the final table, not a lot of scoring for them). It’s obvious he’ll start here. These other guys have been lightly used subs, but notched some actual GCA and are under 22, in Tata’s preferred region of talent acquisition.
Besides some tactical flexibility, it isn’t inconceivable that they could both play at once.
in tata we trust…
Please make this the home opener TIFO
Just an fyi that im getting horrible screen optimization on mobile due to ads. In vertical mode, the ad blocks 98% of the article and I cant figure out how to make it go away. It goes away when i switch to horizontal, but the site doesnt appear to be optimized for horizontal on mobile.
Not sure how specific this is to me as the ads are clearly targeted (in my case, some grad school program in my region).
For me there has been an arrow that minimizes it in the top left corner.
Yeah i get that one when I go to the site homepage. No arrow on the ads I get on the articles though.
Not sure if anything was changed but Im now seeing the same ad with the upper left arrow thing. Maybe I just got unlucky for a bit, but any change that was made is much appreciated.
If Amador’s salary is close to last year’s salary, I do not see why we need to move him. In the $200s for very solid LB depth seems like a good situation. Lord knows injuries in past years have crippled this team, specifically the defense. I’d like to see some depth maintained to provide cover.