Official: Atlanta United signs Santiago Sosa from River Plate

The wait is over. Atlanta United have themselves a defensive midfielder. The club announced on Friday that it has signed 21-year-old Santiago Sosa from River Plate. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports out of South America claim that the Five Stripes have paid a transfer fee of around $6 million for the Argentine’s services.

“Santiago is a holding midfielder who understands and reads the game exceptionally well for someone his age,” Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said. “He broke through into the First Team at River last year, experiencing numerous big matches in both Copa Libertadores and the Copa Diego Maradona, in addition to his time with Argentina U-20s.”

Defensive midfielder has been a weakness for Atlanta United ever since the departure of Darlington Nagbe. Gabriel Heinze’s system requires his defensive midfielder to do a lot of heavy lifting. From breaking up plays in the midfield to dropping in between the centerbacks and helping build out of the back, the No. 6 will need to be of high quality. It certainly appears that the new manager and the technical staff have selected Sosa as their potential lynchpin in the middle.

Sosa is an Argentinian youth international with a very high chance of being selected for the upcoming Olympics. He has appeared 21 times for River Plate in all competitions over the past three seasons.

Welcome to Atlanta, Slammin’ Santi Sosa!