Talkin’ Dirty: Carlos Carmona from Atalanta to Atlanta?

Rumors popped up last week linking Chilean midfielder Carlos Carmona with Atlanta United. Since then, rumors have also emerged regarding Josef Martinez and the Carmona discussion was largely forgotten about. However, news today makes it possible for the Red and Black to possibly sign both Martinez and Carmona.

Carmona’s contract at Atalanta in Serie A was terminated by the club. That means that as of today, Carmona is a free agent and a transfer fee would not be needed to acquire him. That makes it far more possible to sign Carmona using Targeted or General Allocation Money and keep the third Designated Player slot open for Martinez.

According to Chile’s La Tercera, Carmona is considering an offer from Universidad de Chile. La U is managed by former Jacksonville Armada boss Ángel Guillermo Hoyos and is said to be very interested in signing Carmona. They open the Clausura season on Sunday against Club Deportes Iquique. La U signed 37-year-old veteran David Pizarro yesterday. With Pizarro and Carmona playing similar roles, that could be a sign that they feel Carmona’s demands are too high for them to reach.

Chilean soccer expert Zach Drapkin feels like there is a legitimate opportunity for Atlanta to get this deal done:

“It's between those two right now. If Atlanta can make it work under the salary cap without offering too low, there's a real chance there. Hard to see Universidad de Chile winning a bidding war against any MLS side and Carmona could choose the highest bidder being 29 years of age.”

With some of Carmona’s best performances for the Chilean national team coming under Tata Martino’s mentor Marcelo Bielsa, there is hope that he can regain his form. While he only made two appearances for Atalanta this season, he played as a defensive midfielder for the Chilean national team earlier this month against both Croatia and Iceland.

UPDATE:

According to Chile’s El Grafico, Carmona has turned down Universidad de Chile and will be coming to MLS. Stay tuned folks...