Atlanta United 2 today announced it has signed midfielder Alessandro Castro, pending league and federation approval.

"We're excited to welcome a player we know well to ATL UTD 2," head coach Scott Donnelly said. "Ale is another product of our excellent academy, and has shown himself to be a technical and versatile midfield player. He has a strong sense for the game and is ready for this step. We look forward to having him with us full-time, as this is an important step in his development."

An 18-year-old midfielder from Atlanta, Castro joins ATL UTD 2 from the club's Academy where he has played since the program launched in 2016. In the Academy's first season, Castro was an integral part of the U-16 team which won the U.S. Soccer Development Academy National Championship. He appeared in 31 matches and made 29 starts while scoring four goals as the team finished with a final record of 24-4-8. This past season, Castro made 23 appearances, 18 starts, for the U-19 team and scored one goal.

Castro has two appearances this season with ATL UTD 2 and made his professional debut May 19 at Louisville City FC.

The dynamic midfielder was selected to Honduras' squad for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India where he made two appearances against Japan and France. He also was called-up by Honduras for the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

ATL UTD 2's season continues Friday, July 6 against New York Red Bulls II at MSU Soccer Park. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Restaurant 10 is proud to welcome Alessandro Castro to the Atlanta United family. We look forward to having the opportunity to serving all of our fellow Atlanta United Fans pre and post game.