Roster still wide open as United mix things up

With the departure of several big names anda lack of signings, team’s makeup still up in air,

Atlanta United will open training camp for its fourth season Monday at its headquarters in Marietta.

Its preseason will include trips to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, as well as far — Mexico, to prepare for the upcoming Champions League — and near, Birmingham, Alabama, for a preseason game.

It will be manager Frank de Boer’s second preseason camp leading the Five Stripes. His first was affected by Pity Martinez’s late arrival and Darlington Nagbe’s reluctance to participate with the first team for more than a week.

Still, the team overcame the drama to advance past its opening round in the Champions League and finished with two trophies, the Campeones Cup and the U.S. Open Cup.

Martinez is scheduled to be back.

Nagbe was traded, leaving a hole in the starting lineup that has yet to be filled, but Vice President Carlos Bocanegra said help could be coming with a signing.

There will still be drama, because the team has only 22 signed players, including several, such as rookies George Campbell and Luiz Nascimento, who haven’t had chances to prove themselves in MLS, or others, such as Andrew Carleton and Lagos Kunga, who have yet to prove themselves.

There is a contract situation with Julian Gressel that has yet to be resolved.

And there are still numerous holes on the roster, including in the midfield, that must be filled if the team wants to give itself the best chance to win trophies.

Here are several things to watch through the next few weeks, before the team’s first game against Motagua in Honduras on Feb. 18. The league season opens Feb. 29 at expansion side Nashville.

HYOSUB SHIN / HYOSUB.SHIN@AJC.COM Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer and his staff have their work cut out for them if they are to fill the many holes the team faces on the roster before the MLS season opens Feb. 29.