Atlanta United CEO Garth Lagerwey has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at Celtic after the delay in getting a deal for Giorgos Giakoumakis over the line.
The 28-year-old swapped the Scottish Premiership for Major League Soccer in a £4million transfer Stateside after a successful 18 month spell at Celtic Park where he scored 26 goals and was a key component to the side that won the title in Ange Postecoglou’s first season. However, the American side were initially keen to land the Greece international on a loan deal with bonuses triggering a permanent transfer to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But Celtic would hold firm in the talks until the Eastern Conference side met their valuation of the towering frontman, which led to the transfer rumbling on well beyond the end of the transfer window in Scotland. The delay in the deal has held up Giakoumakis from making his first-team debut and being able to train with his new teammates as he awaits a work visa.
The striker faces a nervous wait if he is to make the squad for Atlanta's MLS opener against San Jose Earthquakes on February 26. Lagerwey has appeared to shift the blame on to Celtic for the issues facing the striker, telling the Atlanta Journal: "We’ve had to reset some things. Obviously, you’ve seen us move a number of players out.
"We’ve talked already about the players that are coming in. The reality though, is that (Derrick) Etienne, and (Giorgos) Giakoumakis, and (Luis) Abram have played very limited minutes in terms of being part of the group.
"So as those guys integrate, as we get work permits first of all, and then they integrate, the team should get better every week for the first month or two of the season without doing anything else. So we’re really happy about where we are in our progression that we’ve gotten all the transactions done before the season."
Pressed on if he would have wanted the likes of Giakoumakis in the door earlier amid the ongoing visa delays, he said: "Would we have loved to have done it earlier? Sure.
"But given the amount that had to come out before we could bring anything in, I think we wound up in a pretty reasonable spot. And we’re very excited now about the season."
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