Dundee United assistant manager Gordon Forrest, who spent six years coaching in Major League Soccer, has tipped Celtic to utilise the American market more and more over the coming years after bringing Andrew Gutman and Manny Perez to the club.
The duo signed for the Hoops in the January transfer window, although neither will be utilised in the first-team anytime soon with Perez heading back to his homeland on loan and the club looking for a similar deal for Gutman.
Forrest, who worked at various coaching levels with Vancouver Whitecaps, believes it’s an under utilised market that could benefit the Hoops.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, he said:
It is certainly a market to be looked at. The only problem is gaining visas and work permits, but you can pick up a lot of talented free agents.
Matt [Polster] is a good player and I remember him coming through the college system. He is very versatile in that he can play in midfield or at full-back. It is great to see him coming to Scotland and being given a chance.
Matt has a terrific attitude and I’m sure that’s why Steven Gerrard would want him in his side. [Andrew] Gutman is another college product who has come over and is very highly rated.
It’s great for the game in the States that Rangers and Celtic are picking up these guys. I’m sure there will be a lot more in the next few years, particularly younger players.
The signings of Gutman and Perez will be seen by many fans, and perhaps even the club, as something of an experiment in terms of using the American college system going forward.
Gutman was the best player at that level last year, winning awards, so there is no better test case for making in-roads there than him.
Bringing talent over to the Scotland before they attract the attention of bigger clubs is obviously a viable strategy if the players are good enough and with American ‘soccer’ continuing to grow domestically and internationally, it could be a winner over the next few years.