The Colombian midfielder has swapped Yorkshire for Georgia
Championship club Hull City have confirmed the departure of Steven Alzate after agreeing a permanent deal with MLS side Atlanta United.
Hull Live first reported last month that Alzate had agreed terms with the side that sits 13th in the Eastern Conference, and the deal has now been ratified for a player who had one year to run on his MKM Stadium contract, albeit with a 12-month option.
It’s understood City will net around £1.5m for Alzate, with the deal potentially rising towards £2m should a number of add-on clauses be met during his stay at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium under former Celtic chief Ronny Deila.
Alzate was part of the club’s recent pre-season training camp in Turkey, though he did not take part in a single training session and has since been in the US to complete the formalities of his move Stateside.
The Colombian midfielder joined City on a free transfer last September following his release by Brighton and Hove Albion. He went on to play 28 times in the Championship for the Tigers.
Of those 28 league outings in the black and amber, the terrace favourite started on 21 occasions but wasn’t used in the final day draw at Portsmouth, which saw the Tigers claim the point they needed to stay in the Championship.
The 26-year-old becomes the latest first-team squad member to leave the MKM Stadium, following on from the likes of Anthony Racioppi, Marvin Mehlem, Sean McLoughlin, and Alfie Jones, with the latter joining Middlesbrough recently.
Alzate’s exit leaves a hole in the Tigers’ midfield ranks, despite the signing of John Lundstram on loan from Trabzonspor. Gustavo Puerta’s situation remains unresolved under the terms of the club’s ban on buying players, at least until the outcome of their appeal is known later this week.
The Tigers do have eyes on a loan signing in the heart of midfield and remain hopeful of agreeing a resolution to Reda Laalaoui’s move with the EFL.
Oscar Zambrano remains a target, but that deal is not imminent. Even if it happened in the next few days, the young Ecuadorian cannot play until early November under the terms of his doping ban.