Atlanta United President Darren Eales has refuted rumors that star midfielder Miguel Almiron will be transferred to Arsenal for £11 million.

Eales told 92.9 The Game that quotes attributed to him that started the rumors were complete fiction.

“It’s funny, you know you’ve made it when they start to make up quotes from you,” said Eales. “One was they called me Eagles and the other was the $11 million dollar fee. It would take triple that to even get out of bed to look at offers for Almiron.”

Atlanta United acquired the Paraguayan midfielder ahead of their inaugural season for $8 million from Argentinian club Lanús. While an £11 million sale would translate to nearly $15 million—a good profit, to be sure—it’s easy to understand why the Five Stripes would be reluctant to part with their No. 10.

In his two years with Atlanta, Almiron has 21 goals and 28 assists, helping lead ATLUTD to the top of the 2018 Supporters’ Shield standings with just two games to go in the season. The midfielder may miss the last two games with a hamstring injury, but he’ll likely return for the MLS Cup Playoffs, and Atlanta United look poised to make a run for the cup.

Accam undergoes sports hernia surgery

Philadelphia Union midfielder David Accam has undergone surgery for a sports hernia, the club announced Wednesday.

He is expected to miss eight weeks, which effectively ends his 2018 season.

Accam joined the Union ahead of the 2018 season after a breakout year with the Chicago Fire in 2017, in which he scored 14 goals and 8 assists.

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Accam hasn’t been able to replicate his 2017 form. The 28-year-old has scored just once and registered zero assists through 1,213 minutes across 23 appearances.

The Union, who recently clinched a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, next host the New York Red Bulls on October 21.

NYCFC re-signs Callens, Johnson, Ring to long-term deals

New York City FC announced Thursday that the club has signed Alexander Callens, Sean Johnson and Alexander Ring to long-term contracts. The terms of the new multi-year deals were not disclosed.

“All three are entering the prime years of their careers, so it’s fantastic to keep consistency and stability within the team,” said Sporting Director Claudio Reyna. “It’s exciting news for all of us to tie them down to long-term deals.”

The three players all joined NYCFC prior to the 2017 season. Since then, the trio has started nearly every game for New York City, combining for 190 appearances across all competitions.

Callens said: “I am very happy, very happy that the Club has confidence in me and I think the only way to repay that is to work at 100% and give it my all.

Johnson said: “I knew that once I played my first game with the club, it was somewhere I wanted to be for a very long time. Everybody from the organizational side has made me feel at home: the fans, the front office and my teammates.

Ring said: “I am very happy with the way the Club and the fans have taken care of me and my family. The way they have embraced us – it wasn’t a big decision for me to continue here and sign with this great club.

FC Dallas sends homegrowns to train with Bayern Munich

FC Dallas has sent homegrown players Thomas Roberts and Brandon Servania on 10-day training stints with Bayern Munich, the club announced.

The two clubs entered a partnership in February that would see an exchange of youth talent on brief training loans. Roberts, who joined Bayern on a 10-day training stint earlier this year, and Servania are the latest Dallas players to make the trip across the Atlantic to join the German giants.

Fellow Dallas homegrown player Chris Richards is currently on loan with Bayern.

McCarty: ‘I don’t think we had enough this year to compete’

Chicago Fire midfielder Dax McCarty told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday that the club didn’t have enough to keep pace with an ever-improving MLS.

“If we were a team that had all the pieces that we needed, then we’d be fighting for trophies and we’d be in the playoff hunt, but we’re not,” McCarty said. “We certainly need to bring in a little bit more talent. We have quality, we have good players, there’s no doubt about that, but I just don’t think we had enough this year to compete game in and game out and we weren’t far away, I don’t think.”

The Fire finished 2017 third in the East with 55 points before losing to the New York Red Bulls 4-0 in the knockout round. The club hoped to improve upon their 2017 performance this season, but the Fire regressed drastically in 2018, having earned just 31 points through 32 games and sitting in 10th place in the East with a -12 goal differential.

“I’m confused because I’ve never been in this situation before,” McCarty continued. “I’ve never been in a situation where I’m still not fighting for something at the end of the season, where I’m not preparing for playoff soccer. So I’m confused, a little bit of anger, a little bit of a frustration, all the above.”