The transfer saga involving the Nigerian Henry Onyekuru looks to be coming to a close tonight, with the likelihood of the player ending up at Celtic Park.
Earlier in the week, I said I thought we should pull the plug on our interest due to the player’s decision to discuss the deal – and his open desire to play in England – with the media. Then, a day ago, the Eupen CEO engaged the media in an idiotic rant where we said Germany would be a better destination for the kid than Scotland.
Today, an Anderlecht website has weighed in and questioned why Onyekuru would even consider coming here.
And you know what? There’s egg on all our faces tonight.
Because Celtic clearly wants this guy and has made signing him a priority. I trust Brendan, so I’m perfectly happy to swallow my own misgivings and welcome this guy with open arms if the deal goes through. The Eupen CEO really looks like a muppet, after saying the player wouldn’t be sold in this window a mere 12 hours before the manager decided to drop Onyekuru for a huge game. The player himself has said the club is trying to force him to sign for CSKA Moscow.
Don’t even get me started on the Anderlecht piece. It’s like an Aberdeen fan’s blog urging Sevco not to let Josh Windass go. Unless you’re doing it for the sheer giggle factor (which in this case they don’t appear to be) it’s a head-scratcher of a piece. The article mentions the national co-efficient as Eupen’s idiot CEO did, and brings up that their club co-efficient is higher than that of ours. Agreed. But we’ll see how the picture looks in a year or two.
Anderlecht’s average attendance is just over 20,000.
The clubs are in no way comparable in terms of size or reputation. We’ll leave it at that.
The word in Belgium is that Eupen are in talks with a winger – ironically enough, he currently plays for Anderlecht – with a view to replacing Onyekuru. If this is the case – as it looks to be – then they’re resigned to losing him. Celtic appear to be in pole position. This looks like it will be our second Janaury signing.
Onyekuru is supposed to be a decent enough player; if, as looks likely, we’re on the verge of completing this deal the shape of our team is starting to come into focus. He is young, talented and can play wide as well as in the striker role.
This is all to the good; many believe he’s the ready-made replacement for Patrick Roberts. We shall see.
In the meantime, we can now, finally, put the Craig Gordon story to bed. Brendan, speaking today, has given an emphatic – and final – answer to Chelsea; the big keeper is not for sale, no matter how much they might decide to offer.
I would assume the player’s discussions with Celtic have ended fruitfully for all concerned.
Good job Brendan.