A couple of transfer tales is always a good way to start a day, and this has been no exception. There are two decent ones this morning, both having popped up over the weekend and apparently with more truth to them than some of the nonsense we’ve heard recently.
Both are about the left side of the pitch, which is a sure sign that this is still an area where Lennon has concerns both immediate and long term.
In the left back position, where we realistically only have Greg Taylor, we continue to be linked with Paris St German’s Mitchel Bakker.
It would be a loan deal only, as he’s extremely well rated in France, to the extent the national coach has his eye on him. He might not be a household name to us, but PSG expect great things from him, which might be why we’re having difficulty getting the loan deal over the line, although we’ve apparently not given up.
This is a far better prospect than some of the left back names; I mean, we remain linked to Barry Douglas, the injury prone former Dundee Utd fullback who’s currently at Leeds.
No thank you, folks, I would rather we didn’t complete that piece of business.
At left wing, we are linked with England’s up and coming young star Alfie Doughty, a 20 year old who had a superb breakthrough season last year. He has ten months left on his deal, and Charlton, his club, were relegated last season which means he’d be available for a song.
He is regarded as one for the future, so it’s a “project” signing but a no-brainer.
This is interesting because we currently have Mo Elyounoussi on loan and Lennon clearly thinks that this is a position where we need a permanent, long term, solution. Mikey Johnston can play there, and he’s back in training, but it’s a spot where we really don’t have a lot of options at the moment, much the same as on the right.
We lost one when Jonny Hayes went last season, and it seems as if Lennon wants to strengthen that slot to make up for it.
Rumours continue to circle about the Sampdoria defender Colley.
The manager has denied this, but the Italian press is still writing it; they claim Celtic has offered £6 million for him. The same report says that has been turned down and that the Italians want £10 million; they clearly have the same transfer window plans as the Ibrox club.
Slap a ridiculous valuation on your player in the hope that some mug pays it. It won’t be Peter Lawwell, that’s for sure.
Rumours continue surrounding Edouard. We expect this now. It’s ridiculous. W
e aren’t going to see and end of it either; these stories are going to haunt us all the way to the closure of the window, which mercifully only has around four more weeks to go.
Tom Rogic remains at the club, which is somewhat surprising as his move out was supposed to be signed and sealed by now.
There seem to be some problems with the deal, but it’s still in everyone’s best interests for it to go through, and Rogic himself seems to want to go.
Transfer business continues to be done around Europe, except at Ibrox.
At the time of writing they are still yet to get rid of a big earner.
The noose tightens more each day.
The Rumour Guy is a Celtic fan and blogger from Glasgow. That is not his real name.
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