Atlanta United make offer for Atalanta midfielder Aleksey Miranchuk

Atlanta United have submitted an offer of around $10 million for Atalanta attacking midfielder Aleksey Miranchuk, sources say.

Miranchuk, 28, is a 45-cap Russian international. This season, he has scored three goals and provided six assists in 1,171 minutes in Serie A for Atalanta. He has also provided four assists in 411 minutes in the Europa League, making him a consistently productive forward when given game time.

He joined Atalanta in 2020 from Lokamotiv Moscow and has 13 goals and 19 assists in 98 appearances for Atalanta. He spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Torino, where he scored four goals and made six assists.

The club has turned to Miranchuk to replace Thiago Almada, who left for Botafogo for an initial fee of $21 million. Atlanta has also already transferred star striker Giorgos Giakoumakis to Cruz Azul for $10 million and has reached an agreement in principle to transfer Caleb Wiley to Chelsea for $11 million, as revealed by GiveMeSport on Monday.

The versatile forward would slot in as a number 10 in a forward line that still features Saba Lobjanidze, Xande Silva and either Daniel Rios or Jamal Thiare as centre-forwards.

Atlanta United sit 10th in the MLS Eastern Conference with 24 points after 22 games, a disappointing campaign so far. The Red Devils will be looking to bounce back this summer. The MLS summer transfer window opens on July 18.

MLS clubs are allowed to sign three Designated Players (DPs) who are not capped and whose transfer fees do not count against the cap. Miranchuk would be one of those players. The club can add at least two Designated Players this summer and intends to replace Almada and Giakoumakis.