Report: Atlanta United submits transfer bid for Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo

Atlanta United has submitted a bid for one of South America’s most promising midfield talents in Moises Caicedo, according to a tweet from CBS Sports’ Roger Gonzalez Tuesday evening.

Caicedo is only 19-years old, but already proving to be one of the hottest commodities in the southern hemisphere after playing 1500+ minutes in 22 appearances for Independiente del Valle this year, scoring four goals in the league. It was his first full season as a professional. His consistency and quality at club level earned him four caps for the Ecuadorian senior team, where he’s already scored once in a win over Uruguay in October.

Caicedo is an athletic box-to-box midfielder with plenty of technical quality, enough so that Manchester United has been hot on his heels. Soccer writer James Nalton wrote more in depth about him here, and Manchester United have reportedly offered a £4.5m bid.

The Athletic reported last month that Atlanta United was in hot pursuit of another highly-touted young central midfielder in Agustin Almendra. It seems unlikely that the club would have the resources to bring in both players, and Caicedo would likely command a lower transfer price.

But don’t think that he’d only cost what Manchester United are willing to pay — Atlanta’s best chance at securing the deal is by swooping in for considerably more money, as has been reported.

In fact, reports from last week indicate that Manchester United is getting cold feet after Ind. del Valle upped their valuation of the deal, perhaps after they received a significantly higher bid from a team that wears red and black stripes...

It will be interesting to see how this one shakes out, but put it on your radars.