Transfer Policy
Already the signs here are very, very good indeed.
Brendan has brought in four players to augment the current crop of first team players, and each one of them offers us something important.
Kolo Toure was exactly what we needed at centre back, a top class footballer who might be in his mid-thirties but has shown over the whole of his career that he is a model pro and who looks as fit as anyone in the first team squad. His experience is second to none, and he will bring a tremendous sense of calm to our back four, in addition to how he will influence the younger players, who will learn more playing alongside a guy like this than they have thus far in their careers.
On the surface of it, Moussa Dembele looks as if he’s the closest to being a prototype Celtic signing from the past few years, but this is misleading because he’s only 19. Dembele has already had two seasons at a much higher level than the SPL, playing in the English Championship where he showed the very real qualities he already had about his game. He was highly sought-after and Tottenham were particularly disappointed with his decision to opt for Celtic Park. It was a really coup to get this kid, and most especially because we secured his signature without having to part with big money. He already looks like a tremendous acquisition, with strength, pace, good feet and a coolness under pressure we saw clearly with his penalty against Astana.
Dorus De Vries has been brought in today to provide Craig Gordon with the competition he needs for the goalkeepers jersey. He has vast footballing experience, including a spell here in Scotland early in his career, and at 35 will clearly not be a long term option … but his is an important purchase nonetheless because it is the one that sends out the loudest message to those already in the squad, that no position is safe, that no-one can take his place for granted. This was a signing that took many people by surprise; it’s the sign that Brendan misses nothing.
Scott Sinclair is clearly the pick of the bunch though, a player of immense quality which could be surmised by the transfers he secured to two of the biggest clubs in England. Although he wasn’t able to crack their first team squads, with all the vast talents in those, he showed at both Swansea and Villa what he was capable of. At the Welsh club he worked with Brendan Rodgers for what proved to be the most fruitful period of his career thus far, and was a blazing success. I was tremendously excited about this one, and still can’t quite believe we secured a footballer of his talents. He will be a fans favourite in no time at all, and will entertain us in ways no player has in years. This is the 24 Carat Ambition signing, the one that excites me about the future, and to cap it all off he’s started with a bang, and already looks a cut above the rest.
These four signings are a radical departure from the policies which were pursued under Neil Lennon and Ronny Deila both. Two are 35. Sinclair is 27 and is on a four year contract. These guys have been brought in to improve the team, not for their re-sale value. The only player who could have fitted into the previous strategy was Dembele, but it’s clear the manager sees him as a key piece of the jigsaw in a long term project, even moving Leigh Griffiths from his natural position to accommodate him. These aren’t project players in the traditional sense.
They’re Brendan Rodgers Project players … but that’s not even close to being the same thing.