It’s good to have a rumour to write, a transfer rumour, and especially one that leaves me feeling a bit excited even though I have serious doubts as to its provenance or that it would ever come off.
It’s the one linking Liverpool with a move for Edouard, with one interesting additional caveat; they are alleged to want to test us with a “player plus cash” offer.
Normally that’s the kind of thing I’d hand-waive as being an utter waste of our time, but the player the reports link with us is an interesting one.
It’s their striker Divock Origi, a much better footballer than his stats and form would suggest and who would be like a demolition ball hitting this league.
How likely is it? Man oh man, I have no idea.
Inter Milan are supposed to fancy him, and there is some dispute about whether or not he’d move to Scotland; he’s one of those players who’s got enough profile – he scored a goal in a Champions League Final after all – that he will not be short of offers.
There are two things here; will any of the offers meet with Liverpool’s approval, and could we do a job of selling ourselves to him as a club where he can come, spend a few years blasting the ball into the net and make himself a hero, and then move wherever he wants?
Two sticking points that I can see. (Just two?)
They are both about money.
What would he cost us in terms of a salary? A lot probably.
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The issue will be how much the club is willing to push the boat out in terms of restructuring.
Most of us realise that our wage cap is ludicrous and needs to change if we’re ever going to attract a better class of player … but this much?
The other issue would be what Liverpool would give us along with the player; how much do they value Origi for and what could they get for him on the open market?
The two finance questions seem to be easily answered; too much and too much.
The deal isn’t going to happen, but this does open up an interesting possibility; that we might not sell the departing players just for cash, and that there might be scope in some of these deals for taking players as well.
Take Milan’s alleged interest in Ajer; if they aren’t prepared to pay Celtic more than £10 million for the big guy, would they throw Laxalt in as a sweetener?
Would that be something the board and the club might consider a good idea?
Who might be on the books of a club that comes in for Eddie? Someone good enough to tempt us, and who could enhance the team?
There are tantalising possibilities.
One of the interested clubs is supposed to be Everton; would you take Kenny on a permanent if it meant getting less for our big Frenchman?
These are the questions we might need to answer.
The Rumour Guy is a Celtic fan and blogger from Glasgow.