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UPDATE, 1/17/22: It’s a done deal: Atlanta United on Monday officially announced that it had acquired Ronald Hernandez from Aberdeen FC via a permanent transfer, with his contract running through 2024.
“Ronald is a talented and versatile defender who we’re pleased to add permanently to our roster,” Carlos Bocanegra said in a statement. “After coming in last season on loan, he was able to re-integrate himself into the Venezuela National Team after playing valuable minutes for our club. We look forward to Ronald continuing to add competition for playing time in our team.”
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Aberdeen FC fullback Ronald Hernandez will join Atlanta United on a permanent transfer after club Vice President Carlos Bocanegra told media on a conference call Tuesday that the clubs had agreed to a deal. Bocanegra did not disclose any other terms of the deal.
Hernandez had a successful spell on loan with Atlanta last season. He was slow to get much playing time under Gabriel Heinze who elected to use other players, but immediately started under interim Rob Valentino and continued to impress under Gonzalo Pineda.
Hernandez had an even more successful season for his national team as he scored a goal against Ecuador in Copa America and and assisted in a World Cup Qualifier.
Retaining Hernandez in the team will be a lift as a player now familiar with MLS and Atlanta United who can provide depth at multiple positions. Hernandez featured as both a right and left fullback during the course of 2021.
In other transfer news as it pertains to Atlanta, Bocanegra said “in general, we’ll be looking to make two to three more signings before the season starts.” That is likely not a sumber we need to hold fast to, but it does indicate that there will be activity soon as the team looks to round out the squad heading into the early start to the season on February 28. Bocanegra added that the team will hopefully be able to announce another goalkeeper signing by the end of the week. That goalkeeper is likely to replace Alec Kann as Brad Guzan’s primary backup.