During the Washington Spirit’s ‘First Look’ event on March 11, GM Mark Krikorian chatted with journalists and teased a new international signing “soon”. In the world of football transfers, ‘soon’ can mean several things, but the weeks rolled by without a word, and NWSL opening weekend kicked off the regular season. Then, just before the slate of week two games were about to start, Meg Linehan of The Athletic dropped the bomb that the signing Krikorian was likely teasing was Colombian midfielder Leicy Santos.

Santos currently plays for Atlético Madrid, and has since 2019. The report states that, like incoming head coach Jonatan Giráldez, Santos will complete her league season before joining the Spirit. Atlético aren’t in the Champions League, but their last league match is scheduled for June 16, so it could be a while before we see her on the pitch for the Spirit.

However, when we finally do, expect a clever, constantly moving attacking midfielder. Santos was key to Colombia’s performance at the 2023 World Cup, and has been excellent for Atlético for a few years. This season she has six goals and three assists in sixteen matches played (15 starts).

It probably won’t surprise you that, given the style transition the Spirit are currently undergoing, that Santos is an elite level passer, particularly around the final third.

On the left is Santos’s FBref Scouting Report comparing her to other midfielders with data from the last 365 days, and on the right is her comparison to other attacking midfielders/wingers. Santos’s passing attempts and completions stand out in both charts, but specifically when compared to attacking players since they’re usually attempting passes within or into the final third.

The fuller scouting report breaks each section down even further. What’s really impressive about Santos’s passing numbers is that – even when compared to other attacking mids and wingers – she’s in the 99th percentile of throughballs completed per 90, with .52.

To put that in perspective, last season Ella Stevens, Jaedyn Shaw and Rose Lavelle were the top three in throughballs per 90 in the NWSL, but none of them posted a higher number than Santos. Obviously the difference between the NWSL and Liga F matters, but it’s a great start and likely reveals part of the reason Santos was recruited by the Spirit.

However, her lowest numbers all relate to defensive actions, which is to be expected of most attacking players not named Trinity Rodman. But noting this hints at Santos being likely to see time as a center midfielder, and will instead be deployed in attacking midfield, or even wing. At the World Cup she played attacking mid and both left and right wing, and this year for Atléti she’s been similarly versatile. Given how much wide forwards tuck inside in this new system, Santos seems a solid fit.

It’s also likely that she’ll help split minutes in attacking midfield with Croix Bethune. While Croix has already shown some of the skills that make her a devastatingly exciting player, this is her first year as a pro. Building her up to withstand the physical rigors of an NWSL season and avoid injury likely means not playing every available minute.

Of course this signing still hasn’t been officially announced by the Washington Spirit, but given that one of the most credible outlets in women’s soccer has reported it, we feel confident that it’s only a matter of time. Or, to speak Mark Krikorianly, ‘soon’.