Today, as you’ll have seen, there are more rumours about Patrick Roberts, this time linking him with French club Nice.
Those stories originated in France itself, and they are not new in spite of the spin the press is trying to put on them.
Nice wants players for their Champions League campaign, but that campaign might be over shortly anyway; they have to play Napoli, and their chances of getting through that tie aren’t exactly great.
This is a story that has dragged on and on, and I can tell you now that Celtic has not been idle at any point in the proceedings.
We have made Patrick a very good offer; the question is, where does he see his future?
The move to Celtic would be a permanent one, it means ditching his ambition of playing for City. That’s got to be hard to let go of. The chance of a move to France, on loan, and then to return to Manchester an even better player … that might be tempting.
One way or another, the window is due to close soon.
We have about a week to get this signing done if we’re going to have him for the final qualifying tie; he can be added as our wild card player shortly before the game.
Otherwise we have until September.
I still think we’re the best move he could make.
The upside of moving to Celtic is greater, for Patrick, than any other scenario. Here, he’ll be a top player in a team whose fans worship him already. He’ll wear a famous shirt. He’ll have a chance to be part of history; he’s already been part of that history, but there’s more to be made, lots more.
The kid has a big decision to make.
We’ll all understand, I’m sure, if he goes to France, to keep alive his Premiership dream, and he’ll be a success in their league. Let’s face it, Neymar has made French football sexy and attractive, it’s the sort of signing that makes people want to play there. With their competitions on the up and up it’s not the worst move he can make.
But what this kid needs more than anything else is stability, and I can’t help but think another loan move and continuing to chase the City dream might not be in his best interests long term. Here at Celtic, on a three or four year deal, with the fans behind him, he can develop and grow as a footballer within that stable framework.
Hey, it’s in his own hands.
We’ll soon know.
The longest transfer saga of the summer is almost over.
Thank God.