Martínez reportedly won't return to Atlanta United in 2023
Josef Martínez has been informed by Atlanta United that they're moving on from him this offseason and he won't return in 2023, according to a report by The Athletic's Felipe Cárdenas. This decision would end one of the most successful player-club partnerships in MLS history. Martínez, who arrived in Atlanta ahead of their inaugural 2017 season, earned elite status as the club's all-time leading scorer, with 98 goals in just 134 regular-season games.
Inter Miami's Higuaín named 2022 MLS Comeback Player of the Year
In his final season, Inter Miami CF forward Gonzalo Higuaín has added one last individual accolade to the list, as MLS announced Wednesday that the legendary Argentine has been named the 2022 MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
Red Bulls announce end-of-year roster decisions
The New York Red Bulls are faced with a few key decisions to make at the beginning of the offseason, before getting into potential additions. With Aaron Long out of contract and testing free agency, they may lose their captain and former MLS Defender of the Year. A few others saw their loans expire and may not return. Caden Clark will return to RB Leipzig, though is set to go out on loan to a different European club. He won't be back with the Red Bulls. Kyle Duncan's loan expired too, though there are talks about a potential return in 2023. The loan for Brazilian forward Elias Manoel expired as well, but the club is already in discussions with Gremio about a permanent deal for the 20-year-old. See the full list of moves here.
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Josef Martínez is reportedly leaving Atlanta. If you’ve been following the situation even a little, that won’t come as a surprise. Josef ended the season coming off the bench, a supersub meant to help drag Atlanta back into games. Couple that with a frosty relationship with the front office and we were always hurtling towards this particular conclusion. The biggest question now is what’s next for the three-time Best XI, two-time All-Star and Goal of the Year winner and one-time MLS MVP, MLS Cup MVP, MLS All-Star Game MVP and Golden Boot winner?
I’ll be honest, this may end with the dullest possible thud and Atlanta simply exercising their one-time buyout. Mostly because there are serious questions about Josef’s value as a tradeable asset.
Now, let me preface what’s next by saying that Josef has never been an all-around workhorse in the way that Taty Castellanos was for NYCFC. Even before multiple ACL surgeries, he didn’t get put out there for his defensive abilities. However, it’s not only his defensive work rate that’s fallen off a cliff, it’s his ability to get on the ball and make things happen too.
His off-ball movement is near nonexistent and it’s part of the reason why he finished in the 13th percentile in total touches among MLS strikers this season. When he gets on the ball he lacks the explosiveness to create space for himself, and it’s part of the reason why he finished in the 1st percentile in dribbles completed among MLS strikers this season. There are more signs that Josef’s knee doesn’t allow him to be the same player anymore (including Josef calling himself “an old man with bad knees”), but we don’t have the time to truly dig into them. As someone who’s watched a lot of Josef Martínez since 2017, just know that all of the numbers match the eye test.
To be fair, that includes his goal-scoring record. For all of his faults, you can't deny Josef’s ability to power the ball into the net. I mean, we just got done talking about his lack of explosiveness, and he still found a way to pull off a stunning aerial scissor kick against New England and win Goal of the Year for 2022. The moments where the ball is floating towards Josef in the box are the moments where you remember just how remarkable he is.
What you have in today’s Josef is a poacher in almost the purest sense of the idea. He’s not going to provide much else. But put him in the box and bang some crosses his way and something positive will eventually happen. For teams that can afford a player like that in their system, he could be a genuine option. Josef averaged almost half a non-penalty goal per 90 and finished in the 87th percentile among MLS strikers in expected goals per 90. That puts him on par per 90 with names like Castellanos, Jeremy Ebobisse and Dániel Gazdag.
Those players obviously did it more consistently over more minutes and while offering more elsewhere. But if all you need is a striker that puts the ball on frame, you could do worse. Is that worth a DP spot? For Atlanta, the answer is no. In a world without DPs, it wouldn’t be much of an issue. But in this case, with only three critical spots available, the answer is no.
There should be other teams out there willing to at least consider an offer for Josef’s current skillset and celebrity though. That could be done through a trade with Atlanta or picking up Josef on a free-agent deal if Atlanta use their one-time buyout. In particular, a few teams stand out.
Minnesota United have cycled through DP strikers without much luck. Luis Amarilla scored nine times this season in 27 starts. Josef scored nine times in 12 starts. I’m not convinced Josef would solve all their issues at striker, but he would at least be a relatively sure bet for double-digit production.
Things haven’t quite worked out for Aké Loba in Nashville SC. And Gary Smith does love a target striker. Josef isn’t quite the prototype there, but he’d certainly provide a goal-scoring ability that Loba, Teal Bunbury and CJ Sapong haven’t. Josef’s nine goals this year would have made him the second-leading scorer for Nashville by four goals.
Out in Portland, DP striker Jaroslaw Niezgoda put up a career-high nine goals in 11 more starts than Josef had this season. Or maybe Vancouver could come in and pair Josef with Julian Gressel again in the hopes that the best crosser in the league could elevate Josef’s form back toward what we saw in 2019. Or what about St. Louis CITY SC? I know they’re more interested in a “Designated Team,” but adding Josef in year one would help draw a few more eyes to a first-year team.
There are options here. It’s going to be a risk for whichever team tries it, but there are options. Besides, there’s a decent chance that risk is lessened by a totally renewed Josef Martínez. Sometimes a change of scenery is best for everyone involved – even if it means the end of a relationship between a player, a club and a city that no one thought would ever end.
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Good luck out there. Dance like Nouhou is watching.
