What does Atlanta United's signing of Josh Cohen mean for Brad Guzan?

Atlanta United have signed free agent goalkeeper Josh Cohen to a two-year deal, raising questions about the future of club legend and captain Brad Guzan.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, as the Five Stripes brought in the 31-year-old shot stopper on a free transfer from Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Haifa. Despite the reports that surface back in September claiming that Atlanta violated MLS' discovery rights regulations, Cohen is the newest Five Stripe.

So, what does this mean for Guzan, Atlanta's shot-stopper since the middle of their inaugural season in Major League Soccer?

For most, the writing is on the wall. Guzan has been an outstanding servant of the club and was key to the team's three trophies in 2018 MLS Cup, the 2019 US Open Cup and the 2019 Campeones Cup. The 39-year-old has made 197 appearances across all competitions (most in club history) for Atlanta, keeping 69 clean sheets in 17,640 minutes played.

Even with all of the accolades, Guzan's play has declined ever since his Achilles tendon injury he suffered in the 2022 season. Early on in the 2023 season, Guzan suffered a setback with an MCL tear that kept him sidelined for eight games. The Atlanta defense struggled for most of the season, cancelling out the team's dangerous attack by leaking in 53 goals at the back, the sixth-most in MLS and the most conceded by a team that made the playoffs.

Given that specific stat, it's no surprise to see that Atlanta were dumped out of MLS Cup playoffs in the first round against the eventual champions Columbus Crew. The series highlighted the team's 2023 season in a nutshell: Brilliant in attack, terrible at the back while rarely winning away from home. The team conceded eight goals in three games played, and while some of the goals conceded weren't entirely Guzan's fault, there were still saves he should've made that he didn't - which happened all throughout the 2023 season.

Guzan still had some bright moments in 2023, though. For example, in Atlanta's 0-0 draw with LAFC, Guzan was the sole reason that Atlanta didn't lose the contest 3 or 4-0. In the midsummer clash, Guzan came up clutch with eight huge saves as LAFC accumulated an xG of 2.33 with 22 total shots.

However, those type of performances from Guzan were few and far between, prompting Atlanta to bring in Cohen to prevent the team from hopefully conceding loads of goals in 2024. While the club will probably say he was brought in for competition, his experience playing in the UEFA Champions League with Maccabi Haifa says otherwise.

The 2020/21 Israeli Footballer of the Year is more than likely not coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to play as second-fiddle to Guzan. And at the age of 31, he's nearing the prime age for goalkeepers. It's more of a when, not if, for him to take the starting job from Guzan. But who knows, Guzan may be the starter come late February and perhaps head coach Gonzalo Pineda will wait to make a change until several poor outings in the defense, which wouldn't be a huge surprise.

On the other hand, Guzan isn't the worst option to have as a backup if Cohen is the starter come the beginning of the season. The only deterrent there is Guzan's salary that would be looked at as rather hefty for a backup MLS goalkeeper with cheaper options out there for cover.

Guzan, who's still under contract for the 2024 season as of right now, has the respect of everyone in the club and the dressing room, and his distribution is still effective in how Atlanta plays out from the back. But a goalkeeper's job is to make saves and prevent goals, something that he's failed to do more and more in recent seasons.

Guzan will go down as not only an Atlanta legend, but an MLS and USMNT icon as well. However, all good things must come to an end, and Cohen's signing signals that a new era is on the horizon in Atlanta in between the sticks.

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