Deadline day is a whirlwind in Major League Soccer, and the flurry of activity reached all the way to Atlanta.
Heading into the evening, the club appeared poised to call it a day on the primary transfer window and meet the deadline quietly. Then, at 9 p.m. ET last night, the club announced acquiring up to $250,000 in GAM from St. Louis CITY SC in exchange for winger Xande Silva.
Silva had been a member of the 5-Stripes since 2023. A familiar face to supporters, he’s best known for delivering the incredible game-sealing stunner against Inter Miami CF in the playoffs last season. Silva’s personality and flashes of skill on the ball made him a fun player to root for.
Head coach Ronny Deila was asked about the trade after training Thursday. Whether it was an issue of Silva not improving or not moving forward, the head coach said that wasn’t the case.
“I don't look at it in that way,” he said. “I will say, rather, that I've said all the time that we have a very settled group. That has been there for a while now, and a lot of them [are] the same age, with the same ambitions, and little bit similar in a way. Xande is one of them that can add value that others want to have. We get an offer on him. He brings opportunities for us to do something, to change how the squad is put together.”
The move, essentially, was about opportunity – both on the pitch and in the budget. On the field, Silva played left wing for Atlanta United, so sending him to another MLS club opens up a chance for other players on Atlanta's roster to step in. Deila mentioned, “we have young players that can come forward,” citing specifically Edwin Mosquera and Luke Brennan.
“It’s nothing about Xande as a person or as a player,” Deila said. “It's more about where we are and where we want to go. First in this league, you need to get something out before we can get something in. And this was opportunity now to put us in a place into the summer that we can do something.”
In terms of budget, Atlanta United receives a guaranteed $100,000 in 2025 GAM plus up to $150,000 in 2026 GAM based on incentives. With St. Louis retaining Silva’s full salary budget charge, Atlanta received significant relief in salary cap space, in excess of $600,000. Atlanta also maintained its special discovery spot, which keeps its capability to use that mechanism this year.
This gives Atlanta United some options to pursue in the secondary transfer window of the year, which runs Thursday, July 24 to Thursday, August 21. As stated on MLSSoccer.com, this deadline was shifted later in the year to better align with the global transfer market, which may increase Atlanta United’s potential targets even more.
Deila didn’t want to name any specific positions where he’d like to see a player added. Rather, he spoke about what qualities the team is looking for.
“We want to make more leadership into it,” he said. “We need more physique in the team … in set play, also. We have all the things also that we look for, so we have to try to put this together, and then see where we can add.”
At the moment, Atlanta United could use a boost. The team currently sits 12th in the Eastern Conference with nine points after nine matches played. The group now heads into their second straight road match, Saturday at Orlando, a moment Deila said is important for the team “to be real together and to go into every battle as a group.”
But that could always change. Atlanta United plays 15 more MLS matches before that next transfer window date. Could the club be in a better situation by then and then add a quality player?
“You never know also what happens in the future,” Deila said. “You never know who's coming out, who's going to stay ever long term. Those are things you have to take on when you’re doing these things.”
