Atlanta United announced on Thursday that the club had signed 16-year-old defender Efrain Morales to a Homegrown contract. The contract will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021. 

Morales is the eighth Homegrown signing in franchise history. He was part of Atlanta United’s inaugural U12 team and has played with the academy ever since. He appeared in 10 games for the Atlanta United U17 team during the 2019/2020 Development Academy season.

“We’re pleased to announce Efrain as our latest product to sign out of our Academy,” Atlanta United Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said in a press release. “Efrain has been with us since we started the program in 2016, and credit goes to the hard work of our entire Academy staff as Efrain has developed consistently, but still shows a lot of potential. He’s a local kid who joined our academy at a young age, so he thoroughly understands the Atlanta United philosophy and has a strong understanding of how we want to play. We’re eager to see his continued development.”

The 6-3 defender was part of the U.S. U17 Men’s National Team camp in February.