They say it’s not over until the fat lady sings, and whilst I won’t be breaking out the bubbly until I know that one, or both, of our two loanees has signed on a permanent deal I am pretty encouraged by the thought that the rotund woman is clearing her throat.
Indeed, it seems now to be only a matter of time.
The question doesn’t so much seem to be “will they sign?” as “which of them will sign first?”
There are good reasons for believing that it will be Jota. His club’s new manager has as good as said he’s surplus to requirements so their club will not be difficult to deal with. It’s expected to be done this week.
Carter Vickers might still make us sweat.
He and Celtic have agreed personal terms but that doesn’t mean that the deal is over the line yet, although I’d find it hard to imagine what could go wrong now, at the death, if that’s the case.
There is a fee already written into the loan agreement, so unless Celtic are unwilling to pay that – not something I can envisage – that deal, too, is just about complete.
Still, many folks will sweat until deals are over the line, and that’s just natural.
Part of it is that we’ve been here before and watched as this club has dropped the ball.
We keep on hearing how that won’t happen now, with those we have in charge and with Ange taking a firm grip on things, and we can hope that these crucial changes do make this process run more smoothly … I am encouraged by the very fact that Ange confirmed that we want them both and that negotiations were ongoing.
All that’s happened since has pointed towards positive outcomes.
I suspect we’ll get the Jota deal done by the weekend. That, in itself, will give the whole club a huge lift.
The Carter Vickers deal should follow shortly thereafter.
That, too, will be huge for the fans. It’s what happens after these two deals are done which will truly be interesting. The next phrase in Ange’s plan can get underway at that point.
These deals are just the beginning.