Atlanta United ended up with three defenders, a goalkeeper, another pick in the SuperDraft and some cash in its results from Tuesday's Major League Soccer expansion draft . Mark Bloom and Alec Kann, two of the players acquired, are Atlanta natives.
“Couldn’t be more pleased with the picks that we got and the value,” Atlanta United President Darren Eales said Tuesday.
The team selected Donny Toia, formerly of Montreal, with the first pick, but then traded him to Orlando for the No. 8 pick in the SuperDraft, which will be held Jan. 13 in Los Angeles. Atlanta United will have the Nos. 2 and 8 picks in what Eales said will be a deep draft.
“We can pick up a nice piece,” he said.
The other advantage to the trade is any players selected in Tuesday’s expansion draft must occupy a spot on the senior roster. Those selected in the SuperDraft can go on the Supplemental roster. Eales said that’s an important distinction as the club also builds for the medium- and long-term.
With the second pick, Atlanta United selected central defender Zach Loyd, formerly of FC Dallas. Loyd, 29, made 180 appearances for Dallas since 2010. He can play centrally or at either fullback. The Tulsa native was out of contract following the 2016 season. His guaranteed salary in 2016 was $221,666.67. Loyd reportedly sustained several concussions at Dallas, but technical director Carlos Bocanegra said he has been cleared to play. He figures to pair with Michael Parkhurst in the center of Atlanta United’s defense.
Loyd started 12 of Dallas’ first 16 league matches this season before sustaining an injury in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match June 15. Dallas posted a 6-3-3 record with a 1.08 goals against average in league matches that Loyd appeared in this season.
With the third pick, Atlanta United selected goalkeeper Clint Irwin, formerly of Toronto. Atlanta United traded him back to Toronto for Bloom, a Marietta native, Lassiter High grad and fullback, and an undisclosed amount of Allocation Money. Bloom, 29, has made 39 appearances in MLS since 2013. He played for the Silverbacks before signing with Toronto. He is an attack-minded fullback who has had injury issues in his career. His guaranteed salary in 2016 was $101,848.89, according to the MLS Players Union salary database.
Eales said he became aware of Bloom when Tottenham, the club he used to work for, played Toronto in an exhibition. He said Bloom had good practices in training before the game.
“We’ve been monitoring him since,” Eales said.
With the fourth pick, Atlanta United selected fullback Mikey Ambrose, formerly of Orlando City SC. The 23-year-old made five appearances last season. Ambrose has represented the U.S. youth national teams at the Under-17, U-18 and U-20 levels. His guaranteed salary in 2016 was $62,496.
With its final pick, Atlanta United selected Kann, formerly a goalkeeper for Sporting KC. The 26-year-old is from Decatur and played at Lakeside High School. He had eight appearances in MLS since 2013. Bocanegra said Kann is good with his feet and has been brought in to compete. His guaranteed salary in 2016 was $63,000.
“We addressed some needs across the back,” Bocanegra said.
Eales said completing the trades went right down to the 2 p.m. start of the expansion draft. The league’s 20 teams were allowed to protect 11 players. The remaining players — other than those who are Generation Adidas or Homegrown Players — were left unprotected, leaving a pool of 259 players open to be selected by either Atlanta United or Minnesota. Once a team lost a player, the rest of its players were pulled back and not eligible to be selected.
Before the draft, Atlanta United had 14 players: one goalkeeper (Alex Tambakis), one defender (Parkhurst), eight midfielders (Hector Villalba, Miguel Almiron, Junior Burgos, Andrew Carleton, Chris Goslin, Chris McCann, Kevin Kratz and Harrison Heath), and four forwards (Kenwyne Jones, Brandon Vazquez, Romario Williams and Jeffrey Otoo). The team reportedly is trying to sign U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan . Neither Eales nor Bocanegra would discuss Guzan on Monday.
The club’s work Tuesday may not be done because free agency opened at 5 p.m. On Thursday, the waiver draft will be held. On Friday, the re-entry draft will begin. The waiver draft is composed of players who have been waived by their clubs but don’t meet the minimum years of service requirement for either the re-entry draft or free agency. The re-entry draft is more experienced MLS players who must meet certain criteria.
