Ottawa brings on Diego Espejo, Vladimir Moragrega on loan from Atléti family

Atletico Ottawa announced Tuesday the loan acquisition of Diego Espejo from Atletico Madrid as well as Vladimir Moragrega from Atletico de San Luis, both joining for a season-long deal.

Diego Espejo is a 19-year-old right-footed centre-back. Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, he kicked his first soccer ball with the C.D. Tenerife before joining the Atlético de Madrid program in 2016.

Espejo joined the Atlético de Madrid B side in July last year after honing his skills with the U17, U18, and U19 squads.

He has also been identified as part of the Spanish U17 National Team program, taking part in two friendlies in 2018, but has yet to feature in competition with any of the country’s national teams.

Having grown up fully immersed in the Atleti Rojiblancos culture, the club says "Espejo will look to carry the torch lit by last year’s loanees and bring the Spanish flair to the Canadian Premier League."

Vladimir Moragrega is a 22-year-old Mexican centre-forward who has been kicking it in the second-tier Liga de Expansión MX since 2016.

Most recently, he played with the Colts del Atlante, featuring in 38 matches across competitions, scoring seven goals. Since joining the Liga de Expansión MX, he has played 53 matches and almost 2,500 minutes, with various clubs, but is credited for a total of 49 goals so far in his career, with many coming while he was still playing in lower divisions.

He joined Atlético San Luis in the summer of 2021 after a stellar end of season.

The club describes him as a "tall and fearless attacker," and "a dynamic player that knows how to use the space and his height to create opportunities, for himself and his teammates."

Both players will meet up with the rest of the team for the start of preseason camp next week.