Atlanta United have been rejected by their top targets - but is this a blessing in disguise?

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Atlanta United's search for a new elite No.9 is proving difficult, but this could be an opportunity for the club to change strategy.

The Five Stripes are rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with just four wins from 19 games, and there isn't much to get excited about if you're a fan of the team.

Although Atlanta secured a much-needed come-from-behind win over Red Bull New York at the weekend, it was hardly a vintage performance against an inconsistent young side with a leaky defense.

Atlanta's frontline against Michael Bradley's team consisted of attacking midfielder Alexey Miranchuk and wingers Miguel Almiron and Fafa Picault because star striker Emmanuel Latte Lath has been loaned to Union Berlin after going down as one of the worst signings in MLS history.

Coach Tata Martino, who admitted earlier this year that he would have been sacked for the team's performances were he not the most successful manager in club history, has been tasked with overseeing a comprehensive rebuild - but things aren't going smoothly.

Atlanta rejected by their top targets

The Five Stripes have brought in a pair of veteran defenders this summer, and they are also currently awaiting the VISA processing of young Uruguayan midfielder Mauricio Amaro, the only truly exciting arrival of the window so far.

The club's main priority of signing a high-level replacement for Latte Lath remains unresolved. Belgium international Romelu Lukaku rejected Atlanta for Turkish giants Fenerbahce, and Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez is reportedly also favouring a move to Turkey.

With deals for the pair off the table, the 2018 MLS Cup winners put all their eggs in one basket: signing Switzerland star Breel Embolo from French outfit Stade Rennais. The Athletic reported last week that an $18 million deal was in the process of being finalized.

However, L'Equipe has claimed that the 29-year-old has turned down the club's contract offer, leaving the deal in the balance. The French outlet added that Embolo had instead begun negotiating with Premier League side Ipswich Town.

While worrying for Atlanta fans, this may not be the end of the story because Ipswich insider Stuart Wilson denies the suggestion that the Tractor Boys have held any talks with Embolo recently. They enquired about him earlier in the summer, but there have been no fresh talks.

This implies that Ipswich are being used to secure a better contract for Embolo and that a move to Atlanta could still be on the cards, but getting rejected by him as well may not be as damaging a blow as it seems.

Atlanta's chance to build for the future

A team like Atlanta is always at risk of succumbing to the temptation of signing established European stars because the idea is to win now. The Five Stripes are among the biggest spenders in MLS - even if very few of their transfers have actually worked out - and they still see themselves as potential challengers for silverware.

Signing a veteran European forward could yet give them a chance of making a late-season charge for the playoffs. It would be a monumental task as they are nine points adrift of DC United in ninth, but there are still plenty of games left in the regular season.

But is this win-now mentality really the correct approach for a team that is, with all due respect, absolutely terrible? Many Atlanta fans would rather the team tried building for the future with a core of talented young players.

The Mauricio Amaro deal suggests that they are willing to pursue younger talent, so why not also try signing a forward who can be the focal point for several years and develop alongside the rest of the team?

Signing Embolo or Nunez would not have been as egregious as bringing in a 33-year-old Lukaku who is coming off a season in which he barely played, but what is the long-term objective here?

A striker alone isn't going to fix the team, so you're spending huge money on someone who will likely leave again before the rebuild is complete. It's a vicious cycle.

If Embolo is asking for a better deal (knowing Atlanta, their first offer will surely have been extremely lucrative), then he's clearly not particularly thrilled about the prospect of playing in MLS.

He will likely view this as an easy opportunity for a quick payday before returning to Europe or moving to the Middle East in two or three years. Of course, you could make the same argument about a young striker, but young players don't tend to be on the biggest contracts in MLS.

If you were to sign a younger striker instead, there would at least be a clearly defined end goal: develop him, potentially win something and then sell him for a profit. Things are never that simple, obviously, but Atlanta are at the point now where they need to try something different.

They can't keep hamstringing themselves with the same expensive attacking signings over and over again and expect different results. At what point do they accept that they need to completely overhaul their approach to recruitment? That realization should have hit a long time ago.

Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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