John Barry Nusum has been asked to fire the Atlanta Silverbacks to glory after signing a two-year deal with the Georgia soccer team.

Waived by the Columbus Crew on the eve of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season, the Bermudian striker has now been snapped up by the A-League outfit.

The Silverbacks are coached by former BAA Wanderers player Brett Mosen and he said he wasted no time in securing Nusum's services.

"I have been keeping an eye on John's progress," said Mosen. "And I have been speaking to different people about what has been going on with him with regards to the MLS.

"Obviously it didn't work out but it is a great opportunity for our club. I called his agent, spoke with John and we signed the deal."

Other than the length of the agreement, Mosen was reluctant to talk figures.

"It's a two-year contract but I don't want to go into the financial aspect of it. We are just looking forward to having him for those two years," he said.

One of the draws for Nusum, Mosen said, was the fact that the Silverbacks have established close ties with one of the top professional sides in the world.

"John is interested in playing in Europe at some stage and we have got a great relationship with Inter Milan right now," said the coach of the link-up with the Italian Serie A giants. "We have said to John come and play for us as we have some scouts from Inter coming to watch us specifically this year. If things work out hopefully we can put him in place over there.

"I am not saying that he will play for Inter Milan but they are certainly interested in taking players over to train with them and then farm them off to their sister teams."

Before he can think of that though, Mosen wants Nusum to prove himself in the US. And he is in no doubt that he can cut it with the professionals.

"He is a goalscorer. Forwards are very hard to find and he seems to have a decent ability to put the ball in the back of the net. He has certainly proven that in college," said Mosen. "It is always a little bit different in the pro game but I think a couple of the experienced forwards we have got will be able to help John."

Mosen said Nusum was raring to go and believed the rejection by the Crew had not worried him unduly.

"With the amount of players available now following the contraction of the MLS, and with a few teams in the A-League having folded, there is quite an abundance of players," he said.

"I don't think it's any disrespect to John. Sometimes the MLS go for names or a little bit of experience. Although we like to go for names, and we have a few in our side, I look at John as being a developmental player that could do very well in this league.

"I am not just bringing him in to sit on the bench. I am bringing him in thinking that he has got the ability to be a starter for us."

The Silverbacks kick off their new season on April 20 with a home fixture against the Indiana Blast. That gives the squad just a few short weeks to get in shape, however, Nusum should be one step ahead of the rest as he has already been through one pre-season with the Crew, whose season began last Saturday.

"I spoke with John today and he is moving to Atlanta in two days time," Mosen said. "Pre-season will begin for us on April 1. From there on it is full-time. It is a very short pre-season, from April 1 to April 20 does not give you much time to get prepared, but we will be going away to Carolina for a week in readiness for a busy season ahead."

As for the team's chances this season, Mosen, who left his job as head coach at the Nashville Metros to move to Atlanta, believes they are better than good.

"I am coming in as a new coach in my first season with this group. I was not too impressed with what happened last year, I think it needed a clear-out and to start again and that's what I have done," he said. "I have gone for a lot of experience at the back with certain players and a lot of experience up front mixed with a few workhorses in the middle.

"I am quite optimistic about our season. We are taking for granted that we are looking to be in the play-offs - we want to see just how far we can go once we are there.

"But it will be a tough season. There has been quite a lot of money spent by certain teams and with the extra MLS players that are available and the usual influx of foreign players, the A-League is very strong right now."

With Nusum firmly in the ranks, Mosen said he hoped to bring other Bermudian talent over to the US in the future.

"I had a few Bermuda boys at my try-outs that I was quite impressed with," he said. "I have got a great relationship with Jon Beard (chairman of the Bermuda Football Association's education committee) and have worked very closely with him.

"Jon offered the possibility of us coming over to play in Bermuda against the national team either during our season or at the end of it just today and we would love to take him up on that - it's a great way to finish your season and it would also give me an opportunity to keep an eye on the talent that is out there."