The Daily Dirt, December 12: Atlanta United active in trade window

The 2017 MLS season officially started yesterday morning with the three hour trade window ahead of protected lists being submitted for Tuesday’s Expansion Draft. Atlanta was the most active team by far, acquiring four players and an international slot. Minnesota acquired one player, center back Joe Greenspan from the Colorado Rapids.

The additions of Harrison Heath, Kevin Kratz, and Romario Williams add some depth to the Atlanta United roster. Heath and Kratz cost the club fourth round draft picks in upcoming SuperDrafts, while Williams could cost United a second round pick (if he plays with Atlanta in MLS in 2017, otherwise it will be a third round pick headed to Montreal).

The Michael Parkhurst acquisition gives United a rock to build the backline around. His skillset is a good fit for Tata Martino’s preferred style of play, and his leadership should be very important with a young squad. With Parkhurst out of contract, there is a great likelihood that it only took little General Allocation Money to make this move happen.

Sean Johnson was traded twice in the trade window, first to Atlanta and then to New York City FC. Most think that Atlanta had already completed paperwork making the trade with Chicago official, even though it could not actually take place until yesterday. Once the possibility of Brad Guzan returning to MLS became real, Atlanta had to then make another move. We’ll never know, but it would be interesting to see if the amount of GAM they sent to Chicago matches up with the mix of GAM/TAM they received from NYCFC.

The move also signifies the high probability that Brad Guzan will be signed and allocated to Atlanta through the MLS Allocation Order, which has Atlanta sitting at #1 right now.

Today, the protected lists for tomorrow’s Expansion Draft will be made public. Join us tonight on Facebook at 8pm as we preview tomorrow’s draft and identify some key targets for Atlanta United. See y’all then.

Domestic

Sean Johnson headed to the Big Apple (Hudson River Blue)

How did Seattle pull off their MLS Cup victory? (MLS)

Minnesota converting a large percentage of its season ticket deposits to sales (Star Tribune)

The Loons also made their first MLS acquisition, trading for Joe Greenspan from Colorado (E Pluribus Loonum)

Vancouver’s Brett Levis inspiring the next generation (Global News)

Puerto Rico FC will play in 2017, but not sure where (Medium)

International

Get your Champions League draw recap (SB Nation)

Carlos Tevez scores in Boca Juniors’ win over rivals River Plate:

Local