OFFICIAL: Atlanta United sign Newell's Old Boys defender Franco Escobar

At long last, pen has been put to paper. Atlanta United have acquired Franco Escobar from Argentine club Newell's Old Boys, the club announced today.

The 22-year-old defender will officially join the club pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa. He is a discovery signing.

Escobar, 22, played with the club for two and a half seasons and made 34 appearances. However, he was only capped once since the start of the 2017/2018 season in August.

The Argentine showed potential during his time at Tata Martino's former club, but a lack of consistency kept him out of the regular starting XI for the most part. That will likely change in Atlanta, as Escobar is primed to start at right back in place of Anton Walkes, who is almost certainly returning to Tottenham after a year-long loan.

Escobar split time between center back and right back at Newell's, continuing Atlanta United's trend of signing versatile players that can contribute to the club in a variety of ways. However, one shouldn't expect Escobar to see much time at CB unless a Michael Parkhurst or Leandro Gonzalez Pirez injury or suspension calls for it.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of depth Atlanta will have at the right back spot since Walkes and Tyrone Mears are no longer with the club. Finding Escobar a reliable back-up could be very important if he does have to come in at center back at some point.

This is shaping up to be a pretty fun offseason.

Welcome to Atlanta, Franco.