The transition from D to E in Atlanta United’s midfield is A-OK so far.
D was Darlington Nagbe, who was traded by the club to Columbus in the offseason after helping it win three trophies.
E is Emerson Hyndman, who moved from attacking midfielder last season to the “Nagbe role” as a hybrid defensive/central midfielder this season.
Two wins, including Saturday's 2-1 victory at Nashville, one draw and one fantastic goal, the winner at Nashville, are the results in this small sample size.
“My job is more to control and supply and pitch in when I can with goals and assists,” he said. “One was tonight. Overall, my role is to construct and control.”
But that goal - a volley from a chest trap.
Hyndman described it as the best goal he’s scored ... so far, which was an added clever ending. He scored three goals for Atlanta United across all competitions last year.
“I’ve always had that attacking mentality,” he said. “I like to link with attacking players. Hopefully more to come.”
As fas his passing, Hyndman has been very Nagbe-like in his efficiency. Nagbe completed an average of 92.3 percent of his passes last season and 89.1 percent in 2018. Hyndman completed 90.6 percent against Nashville. Defensively, he made one tackle, missed two tackles, made three recoveries and one interception.
Hyndman said during the preseason that the position he's in now is one in which he's comfortable.
Speaking last week, ahead of the Nashville game, Hyndman said he feels that he’s doing OK so far in his new position and that he would like to get into the attack a bit more.
“It’s more about control, especially with attackers we have,” he said.
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