There’s a bit of concern among Atlanta United fans as to how the club’s 2020 roster will look.
With preseason approaching and the Five Stripes seeking better fortunes in this year’s Concacaf Champions League than in 2019, several pieces of the puzzle must still be moved into place, with the departure of names like Darlington Nagbe, Florentin Pogba and potentially, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez.
That’s on top of various names such as Paraguayan duo Santiago Arzamendia and Mathias Villasanti, Argentinian left back Fernando Meza and Uruguay youth international Santiago Rodriguez that have been linked to a move to Atlanta.
While VP and technical director Carlos Bocanegra wouldn’t specifically confirm that any of those players were in the club’s plans, Atlanta are in the process of acquiring several that should help them when they open CCL play at Honduran side Motagua in Tegucigalpa on Feb. 18.
“We hope to bring in three to four players and be able to announce those signings in the next week or so,” Bocanegra said on Thursday. “All the players that we’re bringing in, we feel that they’ll be ready to go for Champions League … They’ll hit the ground running and ready for Champions League for sure, but to get a full preseason under their belt.”
It didn’t take long for the first of those players to be announced: Anton Walkes, a familiar face who spent 2017 in Atlanta on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, signed a permanent deal with the Five Stripes after a stint with English League One side Portsmouth in 2019.
Two other storylines, though, promise to dominate the conversation surrounding ATLUTD. In the longer term, the club’s contract impasse with Julian Gressel could lead the versatile 26-year-old to seek a departure if it’s not resolved. Meanwhile the transfer of Gonzalez Pirez to Club Tijuana of Liga MX appears to be all but finalized, according to multiple reports.
Atlanta are staying mum on both fronts, although Bocanegra did offer that Gressel was unlikely to hold out of the club’s preseason activities while negotiations to extend the German’s deal continue.
“We’re having conversations internally,” Bocanegra said. “We’re not going to publicize those, but we expect him to report and be ready to go to work first day of preseason with us.”
As for Gonzalez Pirez, Bocanegra confirmed that ATL and Tijuana had been in discussions about a possible transfer, but failed to comment much further.
“We have been in talks [with Xolos] but there’s nothing finalized,” he said.
Atlanta United open preseason activities on Jan. 13 at their training ground in Marietta, Georgia before heading to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida on January 20, where they will play closed-door scrimmages against the New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union and Swedish side IF Elfsborg before a friendly at USL Championship side Birmingham Legion on Feb. 8.
The Five Stripes will then jet to Guadalajara, Mexico on Feb. 10 before returning home three days later, with Bocanegra saying on Thursday that the quick visit would “emulate a Champions League-type trip.” And he added that a yet-to-be-announced friendly is “hopefully” in the works.
