Atlanta United FC (Photo by Jam Media/Getty Images)
The impact forward Lisandro Lopez will go easily into the new Atlanta United FC lineup. Anyone can figure out where he’ll fit. But MLS scouts spend just as much time evaluating those strategic players that get signed. And supporters have a more difficult time figuring out where someone like former Argentinos Juniors midfielder Franco Ibarra will go once his contract gets inked.
There isn’t an extensive book and lots of videos full of metrics. Yet the same Atlanta United scouts who trekked to Argentina and found Lopez full of explosive potential also checked off some boxes on Ibarra’s sheet.