Mateusz Bogusz is eyeing a return to Europe from Los Angeles FC according to his dad Piotr, after he saw the prospect of a move to Celtic fall apart.
The versatile star was at the centre of transfer talks between the Scottish Premiership champions and the Major League Soccer side towards the end of the summer transfer window – but the two sides failed to come to an agreement with the Hoops opting to bring in Arne Engles and Luke McCowan with the clock ticking on deadline day. The LAFC talisman – who has netted 17 goals and chipped in with seven assists Stateside this term – has seen his star continue to rise after lining up to make his Poland debut alongside Robert Lewandowski in the Nations League clash with Croatia. He even trained at Lennoxtown during the trip to face Scotland, a quirk that caught the interest of Celtic fans on social media.
It remains to be seen if Brendan Rodgers will push for a move in January following the end of the MLS season, but the door appears to have been left open. Speaking to Przeglad Sportowy, Piotr opened up on his son’s decision to leave Leeds United for his American adventure in 2023 – before setting a potential timeline for a return to European football.
He said: “When we first heard about the interest from MLS, we didn’t treat it with much enthusiasm. We thought that maybe it would be better to wait for other offers. Mateusz wasn’t convinced either.
“But the Americans didn’t give up, they were determined and that’s probably the main reason why he decided to make this move. Coach (Steve) Cherundolo and the club’s director called us and presented us with an idea for Mati.
“They were very specific. They said that they saw goalscoring potential in him and that MLS would be just a stopover for him, because they would sell him to Europe after some time. We liked this vision and decided to take a risk. Today we see that risk has paid off, but he hopes sooner rather than later to return to Europe.”