TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Transfer
UPDATE, June 23: D.C. United have officially agreed to terms to transfer Designated Player midfielder Edison Flores to Liga MX side Atlas FC, the club announced Thursday.
Flores departs the Black-and-Red after 41 matches spread across three seasons since joining the club from Morelia in 2020, scoring three goals and tallying eight assists in 2,680 minutes.
"The club would like to thank Edison for the three seasons he spent in Black-and-Red,” D.C. United general manager Lucy Rushton said in Thursday's release. “We wish him all the best in Mexico at Atlas.”
Flores' exit coincides with Thursday's reported arrival of Chilean winger Martin Rodriguez, who is joining D.C. United from Turkish Süper Lig side Altay on a TAM contract per a report from The Washington Post's Steven Goff. D.C. United now have two open DP spots on their roster, with Greek international forward Taxi Fountas occupying one.
ORIGINAL, June 5: Back-to-back Liga MX winners Atlas FC have made an offer for D.C. United attacking midfielder Edison Flores, according to reports from Cesar Luis Merlo and The Washington Post's Steven Goff.
Goff notes it’s a “low figure” while Merlo conveys that D.C. United are open to moving the 28-year-old Peruvian international. Should Flores depart this summer, it’d open a Designated Player spot for the Black-and-Red.
Flores joined D.C. ahead of the 2020 MLS season for a club-record $5 million, arriving from Liga MX after a strong run at Morelia. But he’s struggled to consistently make an impact under three different managers, posting three goals and eight assists across 41 matches (33 starts).
The left-footed playmaker has found more success on the international stage, tallying 15 goals across 62 caps. He helped Peru place fifth in Conmebol’s World Cup qualifying pathway (South America), earning an intercontinental playoff spot for June 13 against the winner of United Arab Emirates vs. Australia (Asia’s fourth-round pathway). The winner reaches the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Flores is one of two Designated Players at D.C. United alongside Greek international forward Taxi Fountas, who debuted in mid-April after an earlier-than-expected move from Austria’s Rapid Vienna. Comparatively, Fountas already has 5g/3a in seven matches, which is more than any of Flores’ three singular seasons in MLS.
Should D.C. clear another DP slot, they could make some big moves this summer in pursuit of their first Audi MLS Cup Playoffs berth since 2019. They parted ways with manager Hernan Losada on April 20, appointing Chad Ashton as interim manager.
The Black-and-Red are 13th in the Eastern Conference standings (4W-7L-2D record) and return to action June 18 at Chicago Fire FC following the international break (8 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, Twitter).
