Atlanta United’s long search for a deep-lying midfielder finally came to an end as the club announced the signing of Santiago Sosa from River Plate on Friday.
While the absence of Josef Martinez grabbed the headlines, the Five Stripes suffered just as much in 2020 from the loss of Darlington Nagbe, who returned to Columbus Crew to be closer to his family in Ohio following the 2019 season.
Without Nagbe, Atlanta were often slow and predictable in possession, with nobody willing or able to take the ball from the center backs and progress it forward, while it was often all too easy for teams to play through the middle of midfield, exposing the Five Stripes’ brittle backline.