Atlanta United has disclosed its list of protected players for the upcoming 2024 MLS Expansion Draft. The draft, scheduled for December 11 at 10:30 p.m. ET, will see the league's new entrant, San Diego FC, making up to five selections. San Diego FC is set to become the 30th club in Major League Soccer (MLS).
In this process, each of the 29 clubs that participated in the 2024 season can safeguard 12 players from their Senior and Supplemental roster. Generation Adidas and Homegrown players aged 25 or younger receive automatic protection. If a club loses a player during the Expansion Draft, it will be compensated with $50,000 in General Allocation Money.
The MLS offseason is marked by several events following the draft: End-Of-Year Waivers and Free Agency start on December 12; Re-Entry Process Stage 1 occurs on December 13; Stage 2 follows on December 19; and finally, the MLS SuperDraft takes place on December 20.
Atlanta United's protected roster includes Pedro Amador, Josh Cohen, Stian Gregersen, Brad Guzan, Brooks Lennon, Saba Lobjanidze, Alexey Miranchuk, Edwin Mosquera, Tristan Muyumba, Bartosz Slisz, Jamal Thiaré and Derrick Williams.
Automatically protected due to their status are Luke Brennan, Noah Cobb, Matthew Edwards, Jay Fortune, Efrain Morales and Adyn Torres.
Players available for selection include Luis Abram, Erik Centeno, Nick Firmino, Ronald Hernández , Franco Ibarra , Xande Silva and Daniel Ríos.
Dax McCarty and Quentin Westberg are exempt from selection.
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