TRANSFER RUMOR: Two targets emerge in Atlanta's DP striker search

Bogert drops a bomb.

Atlanta United need a striker. This is not a secret. One of the club’s two open Designated Player slots is destined to go to an out-and-out No.9 who the team can rely on to put the ball in the net.

While the rumor mill has been relatively quiet, MLS transfer guru Tom Bogert has dropped a spicy meatball of a report linking the Five Stripes to two possible candidates to fill that No. 9 void.

According to Bogert, the two strikers the club are looking at possibly signing are Middlesbrough’s Emmanuel Latte Lath and Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard (currently on loan with Leicester City).

Both strikers are 26 years old and ply their trade in England currently.

Lath has spent the majority of his career in Italy with spells at Atalanta and SPAL before making the jump to the Championship with Boro. There he has excelled and seen his stock increase dramatically. He is a very pacey player, something Garth Lagerwey has gone on record multiple times about wanting to add to the squad.

Meanwhile. Edouard is a more experienced goal-scorer. He enjoyed immense success with Celtic, scoring 57 goals in 94 appearances between 2018-2021. His transition to the Premier League hasn’t gone very well as he’s struggled to win a consistent spot in the Palace starting eleven. He has just 18 goals in the English top flight in about the same amount of matches played in Scotland.

These are the first few solid rumors we’ve seen this winter, regarding the open Designated Player slots. Another name that has been floating around is Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi. Despite rumored interest, Celtic’s Champions League campaign and a MLS website snafu have seen that deal cool in the past week.

As always, take rumors with grain of salt until something concrete emerges. Just know that things are happening behind the scenes whether we know about them or not.

Feel free to give your thoughts on which of these options you think would be a better fit.