Performance Evaluations: Forwards and Wingers

You won't *believe* number 4!!

Atlanta United players are set to report for preseason on Saturday after a long offseason of like two weeks. Before they arrive, I wanted to take a look at the current roster and answer two questions: How did their 2024 go and what could their 2025 look like?

We’ll start with the forwards/wingers and keep rolling throughout the week or until something more interesting happens.

Jamal Thiaré | End of 2025 season age: 32 | 2024 g+/96: 0.05 in 1311 minutes, 12 starts | Probable cap hit: Not TAM | Contract length: 2025, Option for 2026

Thiaré’s 17 starts (12 in the regular season, five in the playoffs) were more than Atlanta wanted from their backup striker in 2024. But they got exactly what they needed from him. Thiaré and Daniel Ríos combined for 15 goals and 31 starts last year, a pretty stellar output from your No. 9s considering the circumstances. In a post-GG world, Atlanta at least got goals from their strikers…even if they didn’t get much else.

Thiaré found his place in Atlanta’s starting lineup as Rob Valentino’s interim stint went along. Valentino’s direct, counter-attacking style of play fit Thiaré more than it fit Ríos and Thiaré eventually claimed the starting job outright, starting all five of Atlanta’s playoff games and scoring twice.

The concern of course then is where he’ll fit into Ronny Deila’s possession-based style of play. Gonzo Ball is essentially back but wrapped in a Norwegian flag. A forward who simply does not get on the ball until it’s time to score—See those 1th percentile receiving numbers in the FBref chart?—is going to struggle if asked to play significant minutes.

The good news here is that Atlanta won’t ask him to play significant minutes. He’s back on what should be a reduced budget charge (he’s no longer TAM at least) and should be an excellent fit as a substitute asked to come in, throw his body around, put in defensive work and find the back of the net a few times.

Things get kind of scary though if whoever Atlanta’s next DP striker is deals with the same injury issues that plagued GG. To be blunt: It’s my view that Thiaré straight up will struggle to be an effective starter in Deila’s system. Atlanta will need to bring in another Ríos-type backup forward who’s more comfortable on the ball, just in case.

Xande Silva | End of 2025 season age: | 2024 g+/96: 0.00 in 1589 minutes, 17 starts | Probable cap hit: Probably TAM | Contract length: 2025, Option for 2026

Man. What happened here?

I’ll show you what I’m talking about…

I know, I know small sample size. But over Silva’s eight regular season starts and three playoff starts in 2023, he seemed primed to be a highly cost-effective performer at winger for years to come. Now, it’s not even clear if he’ll be here by the start of the regular season.

He never got going in 2024. A lot of players in Atlanta didn’t, but Silva’s issues (along with Tristan Muyumba) were particularly puzzling. Even at the start of the season, with Atlanta’s full allotment of attacking talent in the front four, he struggled to make an impact. By the end of the year, he didn’t even make every matchday squad in the playoffs.

We know for certain that Silva dealt with injury issues all season. To the extent those issues impacted him and will continue to impact him isn’t clear. Either he’s the player we say at the end of 2023 and just needed an offseason to recover, or he’s the player we saw in 2024 and he doesn’t have a place in this team at that production level and at a TAM cap hit.

I don’t know what to make of it. I’m prepared for any and all outcomes here. That means I won’t be surprised at anything ranging from the team sending him along (maybe even via a trade?) to Silva getting healthy and playing a critical supporting cast member role this season.

Odds are though that Atlanta opts to bring in a DP winger along with a DP No. 9. At that point, he’s a sub that’s probably a little too expensive to justify keeping around.

Saba Lobjanidze | End of 2025 season age: 30 | 2024 g+/96: 0.11 in 2728 minutes, 29 starts | Probable cap hit: Near max TAM | Contract length: 2026

It’s fair to say that Saba was the best player on a bad team in 2024. He constantly put in a level of work that ran counter to the actual stakes of the games at hand and became the only late 2023 addition to prove that his small sample-size results were bonafide. Even when he ended up playing wingback during the playoffs, he put in a shift.

The numbers match the eye test. Here’s where Saba ranked among starting wingers in MLS this year in American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric.

He’s right there with a handful of the best DPs and U22s and the league, and 1/3rd of a Messi. 1/3rd! That’s really good!

There’s not much to wonder or worry about with Saba. He’s been a high-level contributor since he arrived. He’s been a high-level contributor across two coaches. He should stay a high-level contributor under Ronny Deila.

He can be one of the most productive players in the league if Atlanta can get their two attacking DP signings right.

Edwin Mosquera | End of 2025 season age: 24 | 2024 g+/96: 0.16 (lmao) in 771 minutes, 5 starts | Probable cap hit: U22, $200k | Contract length: 2026

THAT’S RIGHT. WHERE ARE YOUR GODS NOW? WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE AND WHY DO YOU BELIEVE IT AND IS THE CONCEPT OF BELIEF EVEN REAL?