Earlier on today I said that we should all be relaxed about Ralston getting a one year contract extension.
He’s the only right back at the club and it would have been criminal neglect to have allowed him to go leaving us nothing in that position.
I expressed my view that Ralston would be retained merely as an SPL level back-up and that we would be pushing the boat out to get a permanent player for that slot.
Tonight, rumours from abroad suggest we’re doing exactly that with talk that we’ve submitted a bid – believed to be in the region of £7 million – for a French right back currently plying his trade in the Portuguese top flight.
He is Valentin Rosier and he spent last season on loan in Turkey.
He seemed as if he was heading to France, and Marseille, and he still might be, but apparently Celtic has come in with a late bid.
It would be surprising to see us spend this kind of money on the player, but the right back slot is a position where we’ve had endless difficulties and a permanent solution there is long overdue as we try to rebuild this team.
This might just be a rumour, but it’s hard to see what the purpose of it would be. Marseille have already offered close to this sum, so it’s not a late attempt to drive the price up.
Now that the manager and McKay are working together, we can expect a serious ramping up of the operation … with so many different transfer stories out there, this one stands out for the sum involved and for the position.
If this is the start of some serious business it is not before time.