Atlanta United step up pursuit of Atalanta midfielder

Atlanta United have reportedly made another bid in an attempt to sign Atalanta midfielder Aleksei Miranchuk, according to reports.

The Five Stripes appeared to have stepped up their pursuit of the 28-year-old attacking midfielder who would immediately slot right into the team’s starting lineup as one of the Designated Players (DP). Atlanta currently has two DP slots open after the outbound transfers of Giorgos Giakoumakis to Cruz Azul and Thiago Almada to Botafogo.

Reports came out early last week from GiveMeSport‘s Tom Bogert revealing that the 2018 MLS Cup champions lodged a bid worth roughly $10. Now, world-renowned transfer expert Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Atlanta has sent in another bid for the Russia international but the exact amount is unknown.

As Almada has left the club for Brazil, Miranchuk would fill an obvious need for the team that is led by interim head coach Rob Valentino. Atlanta doesn’t really have a natural creator on the roster that can step up right now but Miranchuk seems to be the player that Atlanta is targeting to be their next creative force in the final third.

Romano also reported last week that Atalanta are holding out for €15m ($16.3m), which would be a hefty fee for an MLS side to pay for a player who’s contract is set to expire next summer. The fee that Atalanta is asking for would also break Atlanta’s incoming record of $16m when they splashed the cash to sign Thiago Almada back early 2022.

However, these reports from Romano conflicted reports from fellow Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, who claimed that the Five Stripes had come to an agreement with the Serie A club — back on July 11 — and that Miranchuk has yet to make a decision.

It remains to be seen whether the former Lokomotiv Moscow player will make the switch to Major League Soccer, but it appears that Atlanta won’t be slowing down their pursuit of the attacking midfielder anytime soon.

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