Friday Free Kick: Atlanta United attainable lineup for 2017

As we approach Atlanta United’s first big signing and manager announcement, we can starting thinking about what our starting lineup will look like in March 2017. For this edition of Friday Free Kick I decided to put together what my realistic lineup that the club could possibly put together in an ideal world. I heavily leaned toward players that have connections to Georgia, especially on the back line. Our midfielders and attackers are all from Latin or South America which I feel is a successful model in MLS. Let’s take a look:

Kendall Watson, who is a Costa Rica international who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps, is arguably the only big name among the back five. The rest, however, are solid defenders especially Walker Zimmerman at FC Dallas. Jimmy Maurer might be an unknown name but he is a goalkeeper at NY Cosmos and impresses me every time I watch him play.

In the midfield, Sam Cronin, who plays a defensive role for Colorado Rapids, will sit behind Andrés Guardado and Bryan Ruiz and allow them to be creative and get forward. Darwin Quintero, up top, has plenty of pace and should be well supplied with plenty of opportunities from the wings and central midfield.

So that's my realistic starting XI. What changes would you make? Let me know what you think and create your own in the comments.