Players with ties to Atlanta that Atlanta United may pursue in one of the transfer windows, or the expansion draft:
Cody Cropper, goalkeeper
The 23-year-old was born in Atlanta and is a free agent who most recently made nine appearances with M.K. Dons in England.
Sean Johnson, goalkeeper
The 27-year-old grew up in Lilburn. He has been Chicago’s primary first-team goalkeeper since being selected in the 2010 SuperDraft. He has been called into different U.S. men’s national team training camps. He may be available because his salary of $250,000 is the seventh highest in the league for his position, according to information released by the players union in May.
Jimmy Maurer, goalkeeper
The 27-year-old is a native of Lawrenceville who is having a solid season for the New York Cosmos in the NASL. The club may look to cash in on his success.
Chris Klute, fullback
The 26-year-old former Silverback and Clayton State player starts for Portland. He has received invitations to various U.S. national teams. Because his salary is low ($86,625), it’s unlikely that the Timbers would sell him unless Atlanta United were to make a sizable trade offer.
Tyler Ruthven, defender
The 27-year-old is a native of Alpharetta who plays for Jacksonville in the NASL. He played for the Silverbacks before being purchased by New York Red Bulls in 2012. He has since played for several clubs.
Kwadwo Poku, midfielder
The 24-year-old Ghanian played for the Georgia Revolution and Silverbacks before signing with New York City FC in 2015. Though he became a fan favorite after scoring five goals in 34 appearances, he was recently sold to Miami in the NASL for a reported fee of $750,000 and a salary of $500,000.
Jack McInerney, forward
The 23-year-old has already scored a lot of goals (42) in MLS since being selected by Philadelphia in the 2010 SuperDraft. However, he is already on his fourth team (Portland) and is again having trouble starting with just four in 13 games played. His salary of $270,000 may make him available.
Atlanta United hopes to acquire a few players to continue to build its roster in the transfer window that opens on Monday. However, team technical director Carlos Bocanegra, repeating a theme that he and club president Darren Eales have said during the past year, said the club won’t buy just to buy.
“…we aren’t going to force any transactions,” Bocanegra said.
Atlanta United will begin play in MLS in 2017. Its home will be Mercedes-Benz Stadium downtown and its training ground and headquarters is under construction in Marietta.
Bocanegra said the club will likely approach the summer window, which ends Aug. 3, trying to find the best available players, regardless of whatever system the yet-to-be-hired coach wants to use. Bocanegra declined to discuss any players the team may pursue.
The club already has four players under contract, with 24 slots remaining on the 28-man roster. Each signed player seems to represent a “buy-low, sell-high,” mindset.
Goalkeeper Alexander Tambakis is a 23-year-old Greek-American who came to the club from Panathinaikos. He is on loan at Charleston in the USL.
Midfielder Junior Burgos is 27-year-old midfielder who has played for several clubs, including the NASL version of the Silverbacks. He is on loan at Tampa Bay in the NASL.
Jeffrey Otoo is an 18-year-old striker from Ghana who is also on loan at Charleston.
Andrew Carleton is a 16-year-old forward that is the club's first Homegrown Player. He will be given an opportunity in the January training camp to earn a spot on the first team.
Because Eales and Bocanegra have said the goal is to field a competitive team in 2017, the club may start to pursue players with a slightly higher profile in order to attempt to achieve that goal.
For example, Atlanta United has been reportedly tied to several international players, notably Mexican midfielder Andres Guardado, currently at PSV Eindhoven in Holland.
Bocanegra said the club will not target specific positions in the transfer window because there are so many positions to fill.
Bocanegra said even if the club doesn’t sign as many players as it wants, there is another transfer window that will open in early next year. There may also be an expansion draft in January from which the club can fill in whatever gaps remain on the roster.
Each MLS team has a salary cap of $3,660,000 to fill as many as 20 slots on its 2016 senior roster. There are cap exceptions for other types of players, including Designated Players.
Guardado would qualify as a Designated Player. It is typical for these higher-profile players to be sold or move in the summer window when rosters are being re-made for the pending seasons. So, should Atlanta United sign a Designated Player, it will likely happen this summer.
“You’ll always win some and lose some in this process,” Bocanegra said. “The primary goal is to build a strong team going into 2017.”
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