5 potential replacements for Carlos Carmona

Well, well, well... It finally happened. Atlanta United has sold it’s first player, and it’s Carlos Carmona who is off to his native Chile to play for Colo-Colo. You know what that means — we use the computer game Football Manager to scout out some potential replacements. You know the drill.

Santigo Caseres - DM/CM - Velez - 20 years old - 0 caps

We can’t determine much more about Caseres beyond what we can see from his FM profile, mainly due that there are no highlights packages of him on YouTube. His traits are ideal though, and he’s appeared 22 times with 18 starts since last season began. But maybe the best indicator of talent is this dope goal he scored after middle school one day.

Claudio Baeza - DM/CB - Colo Colo - 24 years old - 0 caps

The 24-year-old Chilean is a regular starter for Chile’s most prestiguous team, and he’s been regularly part of the rotation there since he was a teenager. We can see that he’s very technical and comfortable on the ball under pressure — a requirement to play under Tata Martino’s aggressive system.

The issue with this potential transfer is of course the club he plays for, which is the same club that is looking to acquire Carmona, the player we’re trying to replace. Since it seems to be Carmona urging for this move the most for personal reasons, perhaps Colo Colo would be willing to get rid of a player in a similar position.

Richard Ortiz - DM/CM - Olimpia (Paraguay) OB - 30 years old - 24 caps

Again, no good video compilations of this guy, but he looks like the right type of player to fill Carmona’s role in the squad. But it’s not just the physical attributes Ortiz possesses. He also bring veteran leadership to the spine of the team, just like Carmona did with his international experience.

Leonardo Gil - CM/DM - Rosario Central - 26 years old - 2 U20 caps

Gil is probably the most talented player on this list. He has good pedigree as evidenced by his pair of U20 caps (hard to come by in a country like Argentina). Also, he plays for Rosario Central, where Tata Martino surely has connections since the club is from his native Rosario. However, Gil has only been at Rosario for less than a year, so I’d think this one is unlikely.

Franco Mussis - DM/CM - San Lornezo - 25 years old - 0 caps

Mussis looks like one tough SOB, which is exactly what Atlanta needs in the middle of the field if Carmona leave. Mussis is a player that will cover tons of ground and help cover spaces that Nagbe vacates to support the attack. Mussis was teammates with Tito Villalba at San Lorenzo.

Which one of these would you prefer? Who did I miss? Let me know in the comments.