Atlanta United technical director Carlos Bocanegra has praised the work that went into signing Tristan Muyumba, who joined the MLS franchise earlier this month from France.
Speaking to 92.9 The Game, the former USMNT international was pleased with how they went about bringing the 26-year-old to Georgia, with Muyumba catching Bocanegra’s eyes when scouting the midfielder earlier this season for Ligue 2 side En Guingamp.
With Muyumba still some weeks away from making his Atlanta debut, excitement is already building internally over what the midfielder can offer Gonzalo Pineda’s side. And Bocanegra sounds convinced the Five Stripes have stumbled onto a bargain.
The MLS official said on Muyumba: “He reads the game quite well, which I think gets overlooked because he’s quite athletic and can get around the pitch very well. So he’s comfortable on the ball. We like to build out and play through the lines and progress the ball and he actually does that very well.”
“But he also can join in and get a bit higher. So if he’s taking the ball in space or under pressure, he’s comfortable to get out of those situations. And then if the ball turns over, he’s quick enough to go win that second ball and that’s a profile we feel pretty good about.”
Bocanegra will be praying Muyumba works out at Atlanta
Having sent Franco Ibarra out on loan to Toronto FC, Bocanegra is hardly in Atlanta’s good books this summer. Which is why the Five Stripes official will be praying his latest gamble in Muyumba can pay off in a big way heading into the final regular season matches.
As we know, Muyumba will be tasked with anchoring the Atlanta midfield and guiding his new team to a guanreteed play-off player. And for Bocanegra, another failure in the market could spell the end for the former USA international in Georgia.
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