Leandro Gonzalez Pirez perfectly explains Darlington Nagbe’s value to Atlanta United

Just 72 minutes of preseason action into his Atlanta United career, Darlington Nagbe is showing his teammates and fans why he was the team’s top interleague target this offseason.

For those that have followed Nagbe’s progress since entering MLS his Man of the Match performance in the club’s first preseason match against Nashville wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

The midfielder was calm and composed on the ball despite the horrid rainy and slippery field conditions. He picked his spots to facilitate, dribble up the field or make plays. In essence, it was a typical Darlington Nagbe performance and his teammates seem thrilled after witnessing it.

Leandro Gonzalez Pirez summed it up best on Wednesday, speaking to reporters at the club’s training ground, when he described Nagbe as a security blanket for the whole team.

“Darlington is a really good player with really good technique. For us, it’s easy because when we have problems we give the ball to him and he solves them. We’ve only had four or five trainings with him. He’s a new guy, he has to get the ideas, but he’s a good player and hard worker.”

-Leandro Gonzalez Pirez; Source: ATLUTD.com

It’s still very early in the team’s preparations for the 2018 season but one thing is apparent. Nagbe is doing exactly what he was brought to Atlanta to do and his teammates are happy to have him.