CINCINNATI — FC Cincinnati made another move to bolster the club’s porous defense on Saturday.
Cincinnati signed defender Andrew Gutman on loan from Scottish Premiership side Celtic FC after acquiring his rights Thursday in a trade with the Chicago Fire.
Gutman’s loan runs through the end of the 2020 Major League Soccer campaign.
“We are excited to add Andrew to our roster,” FC Cincinnati general manager Gerard Nijkamp said. “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.”
As a part of the deal, FC Cincinnati also received Chicago’s third-round pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. In exchange, the Fire get $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). The Fire could receive an additional $150,000 in GAM should Gutman attain certain performance metrics.
Gutman, 22, received the MAC Herman Trophy in 2018 as the country’s top collegiate soccer player after a glittering four-year career at Indiana University. A native of Hinsdale, Ill., Gutman is also designated as a homegrown player after coming through the Chicago Fire academy system.
However, Gutman passed on contract offers from the Fire and instead opted to join Celtic in January. He was then immediately loaned to the USL Championship’s Nashville SC. But with Nashville set to join MLS in 2020, the league balked at the destination and the loan was canceled.
The defender was then subsequently loaned to USL’s Charlotte Independence. While in North Carolina, Gutman logged three goals and one assist in 14 appearances.
Gutman also spent time in the U.S. senior national team camp this summer before the roster was trimmed down for the Concacaf Gold Cup. He left the Independence in June to join Celtic for the club’s preseason.
A natural left back, Gutman’s arrival helps Cincinnati’s backline — currently worst in the league — in a number of ways.
Greg Garza, FCC’s current first choice at the position, has been limited by injury to just seven matches in 2019. As a result, right back Mathieu Deplagne has frequently deputized on the left. Gutman’s signing should free Deplagne to return to the right and provide competition for Garza once he returns to full fitness.
Gutman’s designation as a homegrown player should also lend Cincinnati some financial relief, too. Frivolous spending during the current squad’s construction is speculated to have left the club lacking transfer funds. But MLS clubs are allocated supplementary salary for homegrown players that are registered using senior roster slots, theoretically reducing Gutman’s financial burden.
Regardless, the player becomes Cincinnati’s second signing of the secondary transfer window. Dutch centerback Maikel van der Werff also joined the club in July.
Last-place FC Cincinnati (5-16-2, 17 points) is set to take on the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps (4-11-9, 21 points) Saturday night at Nippert Stadium. However, Gutman will not take part in the proceedings on the pitch. He is scheduled to be introduced to local media prior to kickoff, but his loan is not official until the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC).