Mystery signing can’t play for Celtic because of work permit

The player has been on Celtic’s books for over a year now but cannot play for the Hoops because has not been given a work permit.

For most footballers, it would be a dream to ever get signed by a club the size of Celtic. Most fans would probably give up anything just to play in that jersey for a minute. As a result, it is not hard to imagine how frustrating it could be for a player to get signed by Celtic and not get the opportunity to play for them due to work permit issues.

But that has been the story for both Many Perez and Andrew Gutman. The American duo were signed by Celtic back in January of 2019 but have not been able to represent the Hoops yet because of work permit issues.

Neither of them has represented USA on the international level which has made things more difficult. But Perez seems to be hoping that a breakthrough is made soon.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, he said:

"“If I could get there tomorrow then I would get a flight. It would be a dream come true for me. I’m in love with Celtic. We have the best fans in the world. I have a Celtic TV account, so I’ve been keeping up with the games. If I can get my permit to go through, we can just move forward from there.“My agent and I are trying to sort things out, and have been in constant communication with the club. Hopefully we’ll be able to work it out soon. Our season ended about a week ago, so we’re just trying to get myself over there.”"

Gutman has had a decent time away on loan from Celtic and is currently a regular for FC Cincinnati in the MLS. As a result, there might be a chance of him getting a call up to the national team in the near future. Perez on the other hand continues to toil in the second division, playing for North Carolina FC.

Both of them are thought to have signed three-year contracts back in early 2019. And as a result, just a little over a year remains on both of their contracts. So both of them might just end up never playing for Celtic.