D.C. United has completed the acquisition of midfielder Yamil Asad after sealing a trade with Atlanta United, where the Argentine played on loan last season.
Asad, 23, scored seven goals and added 13 assists for Atlanta last season, becoming a key piece of a formidable attacking line. But Atlanta could not come to an agreement on personal terms to secure another loan from Argentina club Velez Sarsfield for this season, allowing other interested MLS teams to move in.
However, Atlanta still retained Asad's MLS rights, so D.C. had to acquire them in a deal that will send $300,000 in targeted allocation money and $200,000 in general allocation money to Atlanta over the next two years. Should Asad stay in MLS in 2020, Atlanta will receive another $100,000 in GAM.
Sources told ESPN FC last week that D.C. will also pay $300,000 in loan fees to Velez for Asad, with an option to make it a full transfer for another $700,000 at the end of the season -- matching the $1 million buy option on Asad's contract with Atlanta last year.
"Yamil is a bright talent in MLS, who was a major contributor to Atlanta's successful inaugural campaign," said D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper. "His pace, skill and creativity in wide areas will provide us with an additional attacking dimension. He's a young player who plays with a big personality and a high work rate, and he will continue to develop and improve with more experience in this league. We're thrilled to add him."
Asad adds yet another dangerous option to a D.C. midfield that has been almost totally rebuilt since the summer window last season, when it finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings in 2017 with just 32 points in 34 games.
The 5-foot-9 midfielder will join a line that includes U.S. national team winger Paul Arriola, diminutive Argentine playmaker Luciano Acosta, U.S. national team defensive midfielder Russell Canouse and homegrown midfielder Ian Harkes.
D.C. has also added Hungarian winger Zoltan Stieber, forward Darren Mattocks, Venezuelan midfielder Junior Moreno and Costa Rican midfielder Ulises Segura over the past two transfer windows.
United is set to begin play in a new stadium, Audi Field, in the District in July, but will open with 12 of its first 14 games on the road. D.C. will play its first two home games at temporary venues -- the Maryland SoccerPlex and Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium -- while completing construction on the new stadium.