Atlanta United has had a lot of stuff happen in the last 48 hours or so. So, we’re going to quickly recap it for everybody and kind of explain the implications of everything.
Tyler Wolff Recalled From Loan
Tyler Wolff was sent on loan to Belgian second division club SK Beveren in the summer. He was recalled early on Wednesday. Wolff started four first team games in 2022, his most ever. With the departure of Marcelino Moreno (will be discussed later), he could feature even more and begin to grow into a good player. He’s still young, but he has the potential to develop a good bit and become a solid player for the Five Stripes.
Emerson Hyndman Contract Terminated
It was announced on Wednesday that Emerson Hyndman’s contract was terminated. The midfielder showed signs of promise when he played, but had some injuries that took him out for extended periods of time. He made a lot of money and it got to the point that keeping him on such a massive salary probably wasn’t worth it.
Marcelino Moreno Loaned to Coritiba
On Tuesday night some rumors about a Moreno to Coritiba deal surfaced. They were then deleted, but turned out to be true as, the next day, Coritiba announced the deal. Atlanta United still hasn’t announced anything, but Coritiba’s stuff is still up, including even an interview with Marcie. The deal appears to be a loan with an option to purchase. Moreno made very little, but his cap hit from his fee was so big that, per Matt Doyle, he was a max TAM player. This deal should open up plenty of cap space.
Ezequiel Barco Linked to Vasco
According to Colina Informa on Twitter, Vasco, a recently promoted Brazilian club, are interested in Ezequiel Barco, currently on loan with River Plate from Atlanta United. Atlanta is reportedly asking for $8M or so for him. Barco is on loan for the 2023 season with River, but taking a DP off of our books forever could be really helpful.
Alan Franco Transferred to São Paulo
If you’ve been following the club’s transfer rumors, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Franco was linked to Sao Paulo last year with a rumor about interest for a loan. This year, the rumor resurfaced, and negotiations have been ongoing. Initially it was reported to be a loan, however the front office managed to get a purchase out of the negotiations for $2.33M. Franco carried a hefty cap hit between his over $2.5M transfer fee and his $667.5k salary. This move should open up a ton of cap space.
Josef Martinez Linked to Inter Miami, Internacional
El Rey is almost certainly leaving, and it appears there is interest for him in both Miami and Porto Alegre. Inter Miami was said to be interested and in talks with Atlanta United for him by Tom Bogert and, per Felipe Cardenas, there is also interest from Internacional. Miami currently has no DP spots open, which could complicate things. Taylor Twellman floated the idea of Rodolfo Pizzaro being traded to Atlanta for Josef. However it happens, it looks like there’s a chance one of these deals goes through.
Dom Dwyer Leaves (?)
Dom Dwyer sent a farewell message to Atlanta fans over Twitter this evening. Atlanta United hasn’t said anything, however, but I think it’s safe to say he’s gone. He was only with the Five Stripes for one year and only played 605 minutes, but he was a fiery personality to bring off the bench. He carried a small contract and it didn’t expire until the end of 2023. This is all confusing, but it seems Dwyer won’t be back next year, leaving us with… one striker.
Implications
We basically just cleaned house. By my math, we have enough space to sign a guy with a ~1.2M cap hit, a guy with a ~1.1M cap hit, a TAM guy and $1.05M in GAM. We have a lot of spots to fill, but a lot of room to sign players. This should be a fun rebuild to say the least.
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