Cincinnati general manager explains his delight at Andre Gutman deal

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Celtic defender Andrew Gutman has headed back out on loan after spending time with the Glasgow club over pre-season. The talented American does not yet qualify for a work permit in the UK and has therefore headed back to the USA. 

The 22-year-old had previously spent time on loan at Charlotte Independence of the USL Championship. However, he will be playing in Major League Soccer next season. 

Gutman has joined FC Cincinnati for the remainder of the 2019 and start of the 2020 MLS season. The club’s General Manager is Dutchman Gerard Nijkamp and he is clearly over the moon at the acquisition. He told the club’s official website just how excited he was to have brought the player in this summer. 

“We are excited to add Andrew to our roster. 

“He is an exciting young player that will add balance to our backline. We look forward to getting him acclimated with our club and the city of Cincinnati.”  

For Celtic, it is also a good deal. The Bhoys want Gutman to be playing regular football and that is not going to happen at Parkhead considering his work permit issues. 

But they would also not want him playing in the lower tier of US football again. Registration rules dictated that Celtic could not loan Gutman back to the MLS previously as Chicago Fire still held his MLS rights. 

That is no longer an issue and Celtic fans will hope Gutman can get plenty of experience with Cincinnati that helps him develop into a potential first-team star at Parkhead.