Atlanta United announced today the acquisition of four players, an international roster spot, and additional General and Targeted Allocation Money during Major League Soccer’s half-day trade window. In separate transactions, the club has added defender Michael Parkhurst from Columbus Crew, forward Romario Williams from Montreal Impact, midfielder Harrison Heath from Orlando and midfielder Kevin Kratz from Philadelphia. The club added a two-year international roster spot from Colorado Rapids, and acquired additional General and Targeted Allocation Money from New York City FC.
Michael Parkhurst
Atlanta acquired Parkhurst from Columbus in exchange for General Allocation Money. Parkhurst, 32, brings extensive MLS experience to Atlanta United, combining for more than 200 career appearances with Columbus and the New England Revolution. In addition to four MLS All-Star selections, Parkhurst’s decorated career includes being named the 2005 MLS Rookie of the Year, 2007 MLS Defender of the Year, a 2007 MLS Best XI selection and the MLS Fair Play award recipient three different seasons, as well as four appearances in the MLS Cup Final.
The veteran defender has also had success abroad in the Danish Superliga with Danish side Nordsjælland and helped lead the club to two Danish Cup victories in the 2009-2010 and 2010-11 seasons. He also competed in the 2012 UEFA Champions League with Nordsjælland.
Parkhurst has also played for the United States Men’s National team with 25 caps. His National Team debut came in a CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 9, 2007. He was a member of the 2007 and 2013 Gold Cup Champion teams as well as the squad that finished runner-up in the 2009 tournament.
Romario Williams
Atlanta acquired Williams from Montreal in exchange for a Third Round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. Williams, 22, was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and spent the 2016 season on loan with Charleston Battery, where he scored a team-high 10 goals. A standout at the University of Central Florida, Williams scored 18 goals over his three seasons with the Knights, including 10 during his sophomore season, en route to being named the American Athletic Conference’s 2013 Offensive Player of the Year. Williams then signed a Generation adidas contract on Jan. 8, 2015, forgoing his senior year at UCF.
Harrison Heath
Atlanta acquired Heath in exchange for the club’s natural Fourth Round selection in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. Heath, 20, has spent the last three seasons in Orlando’s system, first joining the club on July 17, 2014 when the Lions were in USL. In 2016, he made three appearances for the MLS club and 12 appearances for their USL affiliate, Orlando City B. Harrison is the son of current Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath.
Kevin Kratz
Atlanta acquired Kratz from the Philadelphia Union in exchange for Atlanta’s natural Fourth Round selection in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. Kratz, 29, is a native of Eschweiler, Germany and has spent the majority of his career in Germany’s Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. Notably in his career, Kratz helped Eintracht Braunschweig earn promotion to Bundesliga after finishing in second place in the German second division during the 2012-13 season. In Eintracht’s first season in Bundesliga in 28 years, Kratz scored against German football powerhouse Borussia Dortmund on Aug. 18, 2013 in the second game of the season. Overall in his career, Kratz has appeared in 277 career matches, 122 of them coming from the Bundesliga first and second divisions. Philadelphia signed Kratz, who was a free agent, on Sept. 15, 2016 ahead of the MLS Roster Freeze Date.
International Spot
Atlanta acquired an international spot for the 2017 and 2018 seasons from Colorado Rapids in exchange for its natural second round selection in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Each club in MLS has the rights to eight international spots on its roster. These spots are tradable, in full season increments, such that some clubs may have more than eight and some clubs may have fewer than eight.
General and Targeted Allocation Money
Atlanta initially acquired goalkeeper Sean Johnson in a deal with Chicago Fire for General Allocation Money, and subsequently acquired General Allocation Money and Targeted Allocation Money from New York City FC in exchange for Johnson. Allocation Money is split into two separate categories, General and Targeted, with each distributed by the league to allow teams to acquire new players outside of the league’s salary cap. For a full rundown of league roster rules, in addition to Allocation Money, click here.
MLS Offseason
The MLS offseason continues as MLS teams will be required to submit their 11-man protected list ahead Tuesday’s Expansion Draft. Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC each selecting five players when the draft begins at 2 p.m.
Everything you need to know about Tuesday’s Expansion Draft here.
Later in the day, MLS Free Agency will begin at 5 p.m. The MLS Waiver Draft is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. and the MLS Re-Entry Process will begin with Stage One on Friday, Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. and Stage Two to begin on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 3 p.m.
