Atlanta United has acquired Argentinian Yamil Asad, an attacking midfielder formerly of Velez Sarsfield in Argentina’s first division.
He is the third player from South America signed by the MLS expansion club, joining fellow Argentinian and forward Hector Villalba, and Paraguayan midfielder Miguel Almiron. Villalba and Almiron are Designated Players. Atlanta United and Sarsfield agreed to a one-year loan for Asad with an option to buy. It’s a similar agreement to what Atlanta United did with Tijuana for left back Greg Garza.
Asad, 22, has made 55 appearances for Sarsfield since 2013, scoring four goals.
“I’ve always thought highly of Yamil’s ability and am very happy he’s joined our club,” Atlanta United coach Gerardo Martino said in a statement from the team. “He gives us more quality in our attack and I’m very confident he can make a smooth transition to MLS.”
Atlanta United’s roster now features a large number of midfielders. Joining Asad and Almiron are Jeff Larentowicz, Chris McCann, Kevin Kratz, Harrison Heath, Andrew Carleton, Chris Goslin and Jeffrey Otoo.
The team holds the Nos. 2 and 8 picks in Friday’s SuperDraft to be held in Los Angeles, though club president Darren Eales said they are listening to trade offers for the higher pick.
It will be interesting to see how Martino uses Asad, Almiron and Villalba together. Asad and Almiron play the same position, though Almiron can shift out to the left wing. He could elect to utilize them in the same way that Liverpool uses Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana: the players can rotate postitions depending upon the circumstance and situation.
