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Celtic’s Late Signing Spree: Not Timely But Welcome

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So here we are then, signing players in key positions in the week after we’ve been knocked out of the Champions League.

Nothing quite sums up Celtic like this does.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see signs of life – and the right kind of life at that.

But this is endemic of the issues we’re facing as a club, that we’ve left it until we’ve already exited the biggest football competition in the world before we start spending money.

Of course, we’re not really spending anything at all.

Virgil Van Dijk is certain to leave, and today’s mad scramble for players is simply us replacing him, with part of his fee.

The rest of the money will go to make up some of the shortfall for our failure to make the big competition.

This is frustrating, and it’s senseless that we keep on doing this, over and over again.

Scepovic and Guidetti were signing last season at exactly the same point, when the Swede could have been at Celtic Park weeks before, as we toiled up front against Maribor in the last qualifier.

It just seems that we have a horrible tendency to leave things late.

I got some stick – which I’d been expecting – over my criticism of the Blackett loan deal.

I was told that I knew nothing about football as I wasn’t intimately familiar with the career of a guy who played 11 games in the Premiership last season.

I guess they watch more of the world’s most overblown league than I do.

But my point doesn’t change.

Even with an option to buy, this deal is stupid because the player himself, if he performs to a high standard, is going to fancy his chances at his current club.

If they’re willing to sell him, even with our first option, we already know we’re not going to match the kind of wages he’ll get at Newcastle or Spurs or somewhere else in the EPL.

I have no doubts – none at all – that my critics are correct about him.

I never doubted, never questioned, his talent. I admitted, freely, that I didn’t know enough about him to give an honest assesment.

(Some people thought I was having a dig. I was simply being truthful.)

I believe them when they say he’s an excellent footballer. All the reports I’ve read say the same thing.

But the option to buy simply isn’t worth the paper its printed on unless this kid falls in love with Celtic and is willing to forego his huge earning potential down south in order to stay.

I’m not saying that’s impossible – we’re a special club with special fans – but it’s not likely either, is it?

He’s not a kid from the Calton. He owes us no loyalty and I expect none.

Again, not a criticism. Just being objective.

The very best we can hope for from the deal is that he’s as good as Jason Denayer.

As I said, I hear that he’s a pretty decent footballer, and that’s all good, but my gripe is that at the end of his loan spell we’re going to be right back here again next season, needing to find a replacement, unsettling the defence, upsetting a partnership and needing to bed a new one in.

Just in time for European Champions League qualifiers.

If this sounds familiar it’s because it is.

But those are the negative points, and this really isn’t a day when I want to over-indulge in those.

Because positive things do appear to be happening.

Today, if we’re to believe the reports, the club is going to come close to meeting its current transfer record.

This will astonish me – not surprise me, but astonish me – and suggests that there’s been some kind of subtle shift in thinking within the club.

If this is indicative of changes in the wind, well I’ll be one happy bhoy.

Reports of Steven Fletcher coming on loan, as well as continuing rumours about Michu, are both very welcome.

Fletcher will certainly have an option to buy clause, and he’s been talking for a while about wanting to go back to playing in Scotland.

He’s exactly the kind of physical ball-holding front man we’ve needed for a while and I’d be happy to see him in the Hoops, because in his case, unlike with the Blackett deal, I do think there’s a reasonable chance of us retaining his services past this term.

The prospect pleases me. I think he’s a great player.

You cannot help but wonder what he might have done in this year’s Champions League games.

Michu is another matter entirely – a genuinely exciting footballer, one who will light up Celtic Park.

From what I can gather, that move has been touted as a straight up transfer rather than a loan and if that’s the case I’d welcome him with even more open arms.

In his first season in the EPL he looked an astonishingly talented player, and scored goals against some of the biggest teams in the league.

He faded in his second season, as the club brought in other footballers and changed its style of play to accommodate them … but he’s got the stuff.

I consider that a long shot, but one we should try for, although I’m not so sure about signing him on loan.

Again, it would be us rescuing someone’s career, helping them re-find form and watching them go and sign for someone else.

I don’t like loan deals, generally.

You might have spotted that!

Only a handful of players on loan ever look willing to run through walls for a manager and a team, with big Jason being one of the notable exceptions.

They are also no more than a stop gap, and leave you scrambling to sign replacements the following year.

But replacing an on-loan forward is, curiously enough, easier than replacing a centre back, so I’d be happier with a loan striker than I am at getting young Blackett.

Central defence, for all it ain’t sexy, is the most important part of the modern football team and a good partnership at the back takes time, and needs to develop.

You don’t get stability there overnight, and it’s better if it grows over a couple of years.

The really disappointing thing about Jason going back to City is that he and Virgil looked as if they might be forming just such a partnership, although that was clearly never going to last.

Jozo Simunovic is young. But he’s tremendously capable, and is not a signing that remotely worries me.

Moreover, I am hoping that the size of the fee represents a belief that this kid is closer to the finished article than many of the other signings we’ve made over the last few years.

With a fee that size, I’m hoping the plan is to build a defence around this guy.

That suggests that he’s going to be here for the long haul and isn’t seen as a “prospect” to sell on at some point.

That would be the most welcome change of all.

Genuine team building.

All myself and the other critics of The Strategy have ever asked for.

So, whilst I am frustrated because this wasn’t done four weeks ago I’ve got to give credit where it’s due.

These are positive steps in the right direction and I said in the previous piece I’m also a huge fan of Ryan Christie, which is why I’d be happier with that deal if he was coming to Celtic right now rather than us letting him go back on loan.

Let him bed into the team.

Let him get to know his team-mates.

Give him a taste of European football.

Ready him, and the others, for the next bite at the Champions League cherry.

He has the talent. We should start giving him the experience to go with it right now.

All in all, things are getting … interesting again.

I’ll hopefully be writing a couple of welcome messages over the next day or two.

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  • Althetim says:

    I think Steven Fletcher is over rated and injury prone. He would be a huge waste of money in my opinion and I for one don’t want him anywhere near Celtic Park.

  • Jimthetim says:

    Like you James I’m not overly keen on loan deals. However, selfishly I suppose, I like to see our young players going out on loan deals to get first team experience. Hypocrite or what!

  • paddymac says:

    steven fletcher has hardly set the heather on fire and I worry about his injury record.

  • ballybough says:

    I agree with a lot of what you say but as for your statement about waiting until we were out Europe before we start spending money,what do you base this on.How do you know that these players were available over the last three or four weeks.Everybody knows that if clubs make a decision to sell a player they will hold on as long as possible hoping that a bidding war will begin thereby increasing the price.since the transfer window was brought in history shows that the vast majority of deals are done in the last 48 hours.

  • adee1888 says:

    Yip Steven fletcher is mince don’t want him in the hoops top ever he like dirk always on the doctors table waste of money scouts should be working for there money instead of this h*s been

  • Swiss says:

    Good and well written article James, Simunovic, Blackett ,Boyata,Scott Allan………..a new team being built?……I sure hope so, Liam Henderson to come back and join that lot with young Forrest
    staying injury free.
    No more nonsense about building a team around Johansen.
    Fletcher would be a good signing IMHO,with him and Scott Brown along with Gordon the ” old heads” needed to help the younger lads.
    A bit late in getting these players like you say James but as always with Celtic better late than never

  • JMcLaughlin says:

    These have been my thought ‘s for ages, never understood the loan deal, it is always going to be short term, and if the loan is successful it stand to reason what is going to happen, I hate this revolving door system, the quality move on and we get left with the stiffs. I have always been in favour of signing our home grown talent , Armstrong , Stevens, Allen, and now Christie, its good business, for everyone concerned, and nobody is running away to play in these Nations Cups, for six weeks on end with the club left depleted of their services, with home grown talent if they are good enough they play for our country, their transfer money stay’s here, to the benefit the selling club, and everyone is happy …… pay a fair price, its good business, we all like a good deal.

  • jimtim says:

    I hope Boerrigter had an EHIC card as his medical bills cost us a fortune he is even looking for a payoff maybe Bolton could take him as he was one of Neils great signings. Hopefully our new signings do a lot better than the last lot as apart from Wanyama Forster and hopefully big Virgil we seem to waste a lot of dough on dummies.
    Hail Hail.

  • Hugh Purcell says:

    Fletcher was on my own radar last year, and I would be delighted if this rumour turned into fact. IMHO we have never replaced Sutton/Hartson with a similar type of striker.

    While I understand the frustration at us signing players after the CL qualifiers, it does seem to be the nature of the beast i.e. the timing of the closure of the Scottish transfer window.

    Therefore my question is why the transfer window does not close earlier, perhaps before the start of the national championships?

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