The former Celtic striker has been searching for a new club since leaving West Bromwich Albion last month.
Speaking to BigAppleSoccer.com, New York Cosmos Chief Operating Officer Erik Stover has quashed rumours linking the NASL club with a move for former Celtic and West Bromwich Albion striker Georgios Samaras.
The 30-year-old free agent attended the Cosmos’ 3-2 home victory over the Carolina RailHawks at Shuart Stadium on the weekend, fuelling speculation that he could be set to make a switch to the USA’s second-tier.
However, Stover has since stressed that, while the Greece international would be an excellent addition to their roster, a deal is not going to happen at his moment in time.
“Sami is a great player that could definitely help our club,” Stover told the website. “At the moment we don’t have an available international roster spot [NASL teams are limited to seven] and won’t be making any roster moves the rest of the year.”
Samaras, spent the first half of last season at West Brom after leaving Celtic on a free transfer, but the former Parkhead favourite made just eight goalless appearances for the club before being loaned out to Saudi side Al-Hilal in February until the end of the campaign.
After returning to the Hawthorns earlier this summer, the 81-times capped Greek agreed to terminate his Baggies contract with 12 months left to run and has since been searching for a new team.
Reports earlier this month had claimed that the two-time World Cup veteran was close to joining Sampdoria but the Serie A outfit were later said to have pulled out of a deal after he failed a medical [h/t TMW].
It was suggested at the time that MLS clubs were also fighting for his signature [h/t Gianluca Di Marzio] but it remains to be seen whether the tall front man’s presence in the States will lead to something – whether immediate or later down the road.
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