TRANSFER RUMOR: Atlanta United exploring loan move for River Plate midfielder
With just over a week until the season starts we got some silly season action to discuss.
Atlanta United’s preseason may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean the rumor mill stops spinning.
According to reports out of South America, the Five Stripes are interested in bringing River Plate midfielder Matías Galarza Fonda on loan.
Several rumblings popped up around Argentina about this link on Thursday, that were later corroborated by respected transfer sleuth Germán García Grova.
Galarza Fonda just turned 24 years old and was purchased for around $5 million by River Plate in the summer of 2025. Despite that high price tag, he has only appeared 10 times for the club since his arrival.
It appears that he is hoping for a move to gain playing time to help his chances of making Paraguay’s World Cup team. He has 13 caps for his national team alongside Miguel Almirón. He is also from Asunción, just like Miggy.
With the departure of Bartosz Slisz in the offseason, the club are on the hunt for a dynamic midfielder. However, Galarza Fonda appears to be more of a box-to-box type of player than a pure holding midfielder. How that type of player would fit into Tata’s plans remains to be seen.
This rumor is still in its infancy and is far from concrete. But it’s obviously something worth talking about as we wait for real soccer to begin. We’ll keep an eye on this and update you if there’s any positive movement.