Atlanta United’s Chris Henderson explains Efrain Morales trade
Credit: Griffin Quinn/Atlanta United
Atlanta United is rooting for Efrain Morales, who was recently was traded to Montreal for as much as $800,000 in general allocation money (GAM), sporting director Chris Henderson said Thursday.
The trade angered some Atlanta United supporters, who questioned why the team would trade a player who was starting and also pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Georgia Tech.
Morales wasn’t surprised by the trade, Henderson said. He said the two met in January because Morales wanted to be loaned so that he could get more playing time. Morales didn’t want any move to happen until the summer window because that was when he would be between semesters at Tech. He was in the last year of his contract with Atlanta United.
“We started working together,” Henderson said. “We had many conversations.”
At the start of the season, Morales was behind Stian Gregersen, Derrick Williams and Luis Abram on the depth chart. As the season progressed, Matthew Edwards, a fullback, was used as a centerback when the team used three.
Morales, a 21-year-old Homegrown signee, became a starter after Williams and Gregersen sustained injuries. Morales started the team’s past five matches. He left the last match against Charlotte because of a hamstring injury.
The team recently signed centerback Enea Mihaj and reportedly is pursuing another centerback, Juan Berrocal, on loan from Getafe in Spain.
“I think this is a great opportunity for him,” Henderson said. “We obviously are making moves that might affect his playing time again, the value of creating a half a million in GAM from him, and the opportunity that we can share future sell-on with him. We’re all still invested in Efra, and he was happy.”
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