As the dust settled last Friday, the day after the European transfer window closed, The Columbus Dispatch was all but certain the Crew would be naming Polish striker Maciej Zurawski as its new designated player. But then, “without warning,” the paper says the man they call “Magic” did an about-face and accepted a deal with Greek club Larissa.
The sudden turn of events was particularly disappointing because the Crew was under the impression that a deal would go through if Celtic, Zurawski’s former club, and the Crew could agree to a transfer fee. However, at the last minute — in fact, the Dispatch alleges that the transfer window was open “hours later” in Greece-Larissa swooped in with a $1 million offer to secure the Poland captain’s services.
“We really don’t even know what happened,” Crew general manager Mark McCullers said. “It’s not like the agent came back to us and said make us a better offer. To not even get a call indicating that another offer had been made is very aggravating to me. Nobody is more disappointed than me. But we don’t have time to dwell on it. We have to get back in the saddle and get back after it.”