Report: Giorgios Giakoumakis "keen on move" to Cruz Azul after reported transfer bid

What to make of Fabrizio Romano's report that Atlanta United's star striker could be looking for a move.

via Atlanta United

Atlanta United fans woke this morning with an extra jolt to go along with their cups of coffee when they saw the latest report from Fabrizio Romano that stated Giorgios Giakoumakis is “keen” on a move away from the Five Stripes.

It is the second rumor (to my knowledge) surrounding Giakoumakis in recent weeks. Given that Romano reports here that the clubs plan to negotiate, it seems like there could be some legs here. So what do we make of it? Let’s dive in.

The pretext: Giakoumakis is looking for a contract

What’s clear is that Giakoumakis wants certainty about his future, whether that’s a new contract in Atlanta or elsewhere. Twelve weeks ago, The Athletic’s Tom Bogert reported that GG and Atlanta United had started preliminary discussions over a new deal.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that this report emanated after one of GG’s signature games for Atlanta United where he scored a hat trick that included a fantastic technical volleyed strike against the New England Revolution in March.

But since that night, sledding has been rough for both the team and the player. Atlanta United currently sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 13 points in as many games played as of this writing, while Giakoumakis has missed most of the games during the poor run of form first with a bone bruise and is now dealing with a hamstring strain.

GG is 29 years old, which is maybe the opportune time to seek out a long term contract prior to hitting soccer’s “over the hill” symbolic age of 30 this December. And honestly, it’s hard to blame him for trying to strike on a deal now after coming of a prolific season with Atlanta in his MLS debut. His scoring rate last year of 108.5 minutes/goal is among the best of his career — just shy of the rate with which he won the Eredivisie Golden Boot in 2020/21 with VVV (99.7 minutes/goal).

Comparing these two reports, it’s notable that the tenor of a report about a possible extension with Atlanta is “no rush",” while that of a potential move away exudes urgency (“keen on the move”). In other words, if we read between the lines, Atlanta United might be a little more hesitant to jump into something long-term with Giakoumakis right now than GG would like. And who knows, that slow-rolling of the situation could’ve potentially irked Giakoumakis’ representation*. That said, Giakoumakis told media earlier this month that he’s happy in Atlanta.

Note: When we talk about “Giakoumakis” as it relates to a contract/transfer, we are really talking about a combination of the player’s desires in tandem with how his representatives are working on behalf of securing them, which can often be very different on the public-facing surface level.

Why a deal could make sense for Atlanta United

“If Giakoumakis is so great, why would Atlanta even consider moving him?” you might ask. (And we’ll get to more of your hypothetical questions later). Well, a couple reasons.

First let’s try to get inside the mind of Atlanta United President Garth Lagerwey. If we rewind the clock a few years back to 2021, Lagerwey was in charge of the Seattle Sounders and watched DP striker Raul Ruidiaz match the club season record in goals, making it his fourth consecutive season leading Seattle’s goal tally. Lagerwey and the Sounders rewarded the then-31-year-old’s production with a three year contract through his age 33/34 season.

That contract has become an anchor on the Sounders, as injury issues have limited Ruidiaz’s playing time substantially. He’s still a prolific scorer when he plays, but the most games he’s started in a season since 2022 is 14. He’s on his way to surpass that this year — but therein lies the problem — the Sounders never know when they might lose him again.

As has been a similar case with Giakoumakis. His injuries since joining Atlanta have not been near the extent of Ruidiaz, but he’s missed enough time that it’s really hampered the Five Stripes at critical moments when he’s unavailable, and now the question becomes: Do you want to continue in this perpetual fear of injury for another ~4 years?

Secondly, it’s a deal that does make some sense financially for Atlanta. Now, MLS teams should not be in the business of earning profits on transfer fees in lieu of on-field success like many clubs around the world are forced into. But, if you can make profits on Designated Players especially, with the kicker being that you can replace the player with essentially anyone at any price, then perhaps “letting Garth cook” with these DP spots is not the craziest idea. And remember, 99.9999999% of players in any sport can be parted with for the appropriate price. Giakoumakis was reportedly signed by Atlanta for somewhere in the $4-$5 million dollar range. If the club were to double it’s money on the player, it could be hard to turn down. But unfortunately we aren’t privy to specifics as to where the financials stand in the matter.

And now, for your HAQs (Hypothetically Asked Questions)

Harry from Snellville: “It feels like GG just got here and he’s a fan favorite. Would be pretty brutal for him to move on so soon.”

No doubt. Make no mistake, this is not the case of Atlanta United looking to move the player — far from it. Atlanta values GG very highly to the point that they are already forming preliminary plans for him to be the team’s striker for many more years to come, as opposed to cutting it short this summer. But crazier things have happened. Soccer tenures with teams tend to be far shorter than fans, especially American sports fans, like to think. Since GG broke out as a commodity at VVV-Venlo, he hasn’t played more than two consecutive seasons with the same team (two seasons each at VVV, Celtic and Atlanta United so far).

Joyce from Newnan: “Is this a case of Pineda and/or Bocanegra and/or Lagerwey not being impressed with GG’s ability with the ball at his feet in buildup and therefore looking for a different profile of striker who can better link play with surrounding attackers?”

Very specific question, Joyce. You sound like someone I know. Anyway, GG’s play-style isn’t at the root of any of this. Though if the move were to happen for other reasons, I think it’s completely fair to suggest the team might look for a player that has some different qualities. Effective strikers are built in all sorts of different ways. I certainly wouldn’t hate a more technical striker at all, but to have that conversation now is putting the cart ahead of the horse.

Howard from Gainesville: “What do you think are the chances of this actually happening?”

All in all, I don’t see it as being very likely. Maybe a 15% chance, and that’s mainly because I’m not buying Cruz Azul as being a club that will bend over to get this thing done. They seem much more like the kind of team in the market for distressed assets they can get on sale. Atlanta isn’t going to let go of a figure so central to the team that easily.

Roger from Fullerton, Calif.: “When are we going to be a family again?”