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Despite the rumors suggesting Andres Guardado would join Atlanta United to begin their inaugural season, it appears the Mexican international will finish the current season with PSV Eindhoven. Rik Elfrink, a PSV reporter in the Netherlands, addressed the rumor that ATLUTD may be in Guardado’s future:
Guardado (contract tot juli 2018) heeft met #PSV afgesproken dit seizoen af te maken in Eindhoven. Volgende transferzomer nieuwe evaluatie. https://t.co/MRFvLSDaOi
— Rik Elfrink (@RikElfrink) September 22, 2016
Elfrink specified to Dirty South Soccer that the Board of Directors of PSV met with Guardado over the summer and came to the agreement the midfielder would stay in Eindhoven until the end of the season. The club would come to a decision regarding his future with the team upon the conclusion of the season.
Considering PSV is currently in the middle of Champions League competition, letting go of a player like Guardado wouldn’t have made perfect sense from the clubs perspective. Group stage matches go through mid-December, and if PSV were to falter in the group stage, they could still qualify for Europa League and challenge within that competition.
Guardado was strongly linked to ATLUTD over the summer. If Guardado were to join before the season, the earliest he could join the club would be during the February MLS transfer window. Otherwise, and a more likely scenario, Guardado would have to be acquired during the MLS summer transfer window. Unfortunately for Atlanta, other teams could be in play for the 29-year-old by that time.