Atlanta United acquired Andrew Gutman from Celtic on Tuesday and later in the day sent the left fullback on a season-long loan to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for $50,000 in General Allocation money and a third-round pick in the 2024 MLS draft.
The Five Stripes acquired Gutman’s MLS rights from Cincinnati in exchange for $75,000 during the offseason. Unable to secure a work permit for Gutman, Celtic recently elected to transfer him for free to MLS to get his wages off their books, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak.
Gutman was signed by Celtic after an All-American career at Indiana that ended in 2018. He never appeared for the Scottish powers.
He spent 2019 on loan at Charlotte and then 2020 on loan at Cincinnati. He made 29 appearances for Cincinnati and impressed Atlanta United vice president Carlos Bocanegra.
“He played against us a few times with Cincinnati, and his size and ability to get up and down the line, his pace and willingness to get into the attack as well as get back and defend, he’s very much the profile of the outside back we like,” Bocanegra said. “Seeing him compete in MLS, knowing his level, that helps a lot when evaluating players.”
Gutman is a signing for the future. The team has George Bello, who was called into the U.S. men’s camp during the offseason and would be in the U.S. U23 camp training for Olympic qualifying games if not for issues related to travel protocols related to COVID-19 safety.
Gutman is going to the Red Bulls because the team’s pressing style should benefit Gutman’s development, according to the person with knowledge of the situation.
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