Atlanta United signs Josh Bauer

Atlanta United FC today announced that they have signed Josh Bauer to the first team under a one-year contract with a three-year option.

Legion fans will remember that the University of New Hampshire standout Bauer played with the Legion in 2020 under a short-term deal that allowed him to remain eligible for the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, making three appearances. He entered the draft projected to be a top 5 selection, and was generally expected to be Atlanta United’s first choice. In the end he was, but Atlanta traded its #5 pick and to everyone’s surprise he was still available when United were next up in the second round with the #31 pick.

United are thin at centerback, so Bauer was an obvious choice. They have made one other signing at centerback (Alan Franco), so Bauer will likely compete for late game minutes. However, the SuperDraft was almost 4 months ago, and United’s roster needs to be finalized no later than tomorrow. This is a very late signing.

Atlanta United’s president Darren Eales has a standing joke whereby he preempts new signings with cryptic tweets, often complex enough to leave fans stumped. This one was probably the easiest he has posted to date:

#5StripesDontStop pic.twitter.com/02VD169rcC

— Darren Eales (@DEalesNUFC) April 15, 2021

Those of you who attended the friendlies or watched them on TV will also recall that Bauer played for Atlanta in the second game. His jersey number? 24, of course.

Congratulations to Josh Bauer!