Atlanta United Transfers Caleb Wiley to Chelsea Football Club

Atlanta United announced today that it has transferred defender Caleb Wiley to Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League for an undisclosed transfer fee.

“Caleb embodies the path we envisioned when we created this club,” said Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra. “Born and raised in Atlanta, he joined our academy at age 11, played for ATL UTD 2 and continued to take every step of the way until signing as a homegrown player. During that time, he made his debut for the U.S. Men’s National Team and was selected to represent our country at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He can now continue his career at a major European club. We wish Caleb the best in this next challenge of his career and look forward to following his journey. For the future of our club, we continue our efforts to immediately reinvest in the team during the summer transfer window.”

Major League Soccer’s secondary transfer window opened on July 18 and closes on Wednesday, August 14.

Signed as a homegrown player on 18 January 2022 after joining the club’s inaugural under-12 team in 2016, Wiley has made 85 appearances for Atlanta’s first team in all competitions, recording six goals and nine assists. After joining the club at age 11, Wiley progressed through the Academy and made his professional debut on 11 July 2020 with Atlanta United 2, becoming the youngest player in the club’s history at the time to appear in a professional match at 15 years and 206 days.

Wiley made the transition to Atlanta’s first team in 2022, scoring his first career MLS goal in his league debut in a 3-1 win over Sporting KC on Feb. 27. The Atlanta native had a breakout second MLS season in 2023 and became the second Atlanta native to be called up to the U.S. Men’s National Team (George Bello). The left back recorded career-highs in appearances (30), starts (28), goals (four) and assists (four) during the MLS regular season and added another assist in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs to bring his goal contribution total to nine for 2023. Wiley was named MLS Player of the Day for Matchday 3 following his two-goal, one-assist performance in Atlanta’s 3-0 win at Charlotte FC on March 11, becoming the sixth-youngest player in MLS history to win the award.

The 19-year-old was recently named to the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He has two caps for the U.S. Senior National Team and made his debut on April 19, 2023, in the inaugural Allstate Continental Clásico against Mexico. He has made four appearances for the U.S. U-23s, in addition to 10 appearances for the U-20s and three appearances for the U-17s.

Atlanta United (7-11-7, 28 points) begins the 2024 Leagues Cup on Friday, July 26 against D.C. United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (8 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor).

Transaction: Atlanta United transfer defender Caleb Wiley to Chelsea Football Club for an undisclosed fee on July 22, 2024.

Goalkeepers (3): Josh Cohen, Brad Guzan, Quentin Westberg

Defenders (9): Luis Abram, Pedro Amador, Noah Cobb, Matt Edwards, Stian Gregersen, Ronald Hernandez, Brooks Lennon, Efraín Morales, Derrick Williams

Midfielders (9): Nick Firmino, Jay Fortune, Saba Lobjanidze, Dax McCarty, Edwin Mosquera, Tristan Muyumba, Bartosz Slisz, Adyn Torres, Tyler Wolff

Attackers (4): Luke Brennan, Daniel Rios*, Xande Silva, Jamal Thiaré

*On loan from CD Guadalajara

Loaned for the 2024 season: Franco Ibarra (Rosario Central), Santiago Sosa (Racing Club), Erik Centeno (ATL UTD 2)