Expansion Draft: Atlanta takes Toia 1st overall, Minnesota drafts Duvall
Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC continued building their respective rosters ahead of their debut seasons in Major League Soccer, with the pair each adding five new faces through Tuesday's Expansion Draft.
With the first overall pick, Gerardo Martino's Atlanta side took Donny Toia, who spent last season with the Montreal Impact. Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath opted to select Chris Duvall from the New York Red Bulls with the 2nd-overall selection, and from there, the two teams swapped picks down to 10.
| Pick | Team | Player | Previous Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta United | Donny Toia | Montreal Impact |
| 2 | Minnesota United | Chris Duvall | New York Red Bulls |
| 3 | Atlanta United | Zach Loyd | FC Dallas |
| 4 | Minnesota United | Collen Warner | Houston Dynamo |
| 5 | Atlanta United | Clint Irwin | Toronto FC |
| 6 | Minnesota United | Mohammed Saeid | Columbus Crew |
| 7 | Atlanta United | Mikey Ambrose | Orlando City |
| 8 | Minnesota United | Jeff Attinella | Real Salt Lake |
| 9 | Atlanta United | Alec Kann | Sporting KC |
| 10 | Minnesota United | Femi Hollinger-Janzen | New England |
Atlanta bolstered its goalkeeping ranks by selecting both Clint Irwin and Alec Kann, despite being linked to Brad Guzan in the January transfer window. However, early signs indicate Toronto FC possibly retaining Irwin through a trade.
Just talked to Clint Irwin who thinks he might be headed back to Toronto. #MLS
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) December 13, 2016
Atlanta also added Zach Loyd out of FC Dallas and Mikey Ambrose out of Orlando City.
Minnesota used its next four picks to add Collen Warner of the Houston Dynamo and Mohammed Saeid from the Columbus Crew to bolster its midfield ranks, then rounded off its selections with Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Jeff Attinella and New England Revolution forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen, two players who have been looking for a chance to start.