TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Atlanta United have signed defender Alex De John, the club announced Friday. The deal runs through 2021.
De John, 29, spent the last two seasons with Orlando City SC, making 12 appearances (six starts). All six of his appearances in 2020 came off the bench as Orlando made the playoffs for the first time in club history.
“Alex has been training with us since the start of our preseason and has integrated well with the group, both in the locker room and on the field,” club VP & technical director Carlos Bocanegra said in a club statement. “He’ll add competition to our backline and has quickly proven to be a good teammate and a model professional who brings years of experience, both overseas and in MLS.”
De John is a center back, adding to the club's defensive depth.
Prior to signing for Orlando, De John spent time in Europe, making 125 career appearances overseas. He began his career overseas in Finland with Ekenäs IF before moving on to Turun Palloseura (TPS), where he competed in the top flight in the country. While with TPS, De John appeared in 34 matches across all competitions in 2014. In 2015, De John moved to Norwegian club IK Start, appearing in 41 matches over two seasons in Eliteserien, the top tier of the Norwegian soccer system. De John moved to Dalkurd FF in Sweden in 2017, where he appeared in 20 matches while helping the club reach promotion to the Allsvenskan, the country’s top league, for the 2018 campaign. Overall, he made 43 appearances in all competitions for Dalkurd.
He was a standout at Old Dominion in college.
