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This Celtic Boss Has Signed Just One SPL Based Player. Ryan Porteous Won’t Be His Next.

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Celtic has always made sure that it has a hard-core of Scottish based players in the team, for various reasons the main one being that they’ve been good for us throughout our history and the Scottish born ones help us fill the home-grown quota in Europe.

No Celtic manager in living memory has failed to sign at least one. Ange has dipped into the Scottish market already; he’s not afraid to. That was for our big stand-in keeper. He has not yet signed an outfield player for this team.

There are some suggestions that we might be tempted to go for Ryan Porteous. He would have been on my list of targets a while ago. No doubt about it. He and others like Lewis Ferguson. But let’s be honest, the last true standout player in the SPFL was the guy we signed; David Turnbull. The last one before him was John McGinn, who we didn’t.

Greg Taylor was more recent, and it’s only now that he is growing into the player many thought they would never see. This signing, oddly enough, is the one that best demonstrates that there is still value to be found in this league.

But Ryan Porteous is no longer such an attractive prospect. We’ve come some ways since the days when he looked like a potential signing. He wouldn’t get near our team at the moment, and I don’t see any value in having the guy here unless he’s going to grow into that role.

Porteous makes too many mistakes. I enjoy players who are keen, but his disciplinary record is ridiculous and putting him in our team would increase the risk of sending offs and penalty decisions going against us to an unacceptable level.

VAR refs would love this guy in a Celtic shirt, and that’s reason alone for not pursuing his signing, even on Freedom of Contract. The idea that Ange might tame him and get to the player – and there’s definitely a player in there – who could rise to the top of the game is tempting … but the downsides seem to me to be a little too great.

This manager will sign an outfield player from Scotland before long, and one who can trace his career path back to where he’d count towards our home grown players. But right now there are probably better prospects in our youth academy than any outstanding talent who stands out that great in the SPFL, and that’s sad to write, but true nonetheless.

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  • Tony B says:

    Porteous is much more of a hun type player given his antics and cheating behaviour which he would get away with at sevco.

    We don’t want people who bend the rules, fall over at every opportunity and try to get other players sent off.

    Not a Celtic type player in any way, and moreover he is vastly overrated.

    He would detract from the team and the club.

    No thanks.

    • S Thomas says:

      There is nothing wrong with players bending the rules so to speak. Did you not remember what broony did to Morelos, he played him like a fool, and he fell for it. Scott brown was constantly at it, but he had ability, and Porteous has ability too. I’d take a punt on him, he is aggressive, and good in the air. I actually think he is more a Celtic type player.

    • Seppington says:

      Beat me to it. He’s an immature thug of the sort those klowns love. I don’t want him to sign for them of course, I’d rather he went south and gave the rest of us peace….

  • Johnny Green says:

    His daft antics certainly leave a lot to be desired, but I think he is a very good player. I reckon the raw material is there to work with and because he is going to be available on freedom of contract, and also to stop the huns snapping him up, I would go for him. he would be a good squad player and, as you mentioned James, he’d help fulfil our Scottish quota for Europe.

  • Kevan McKeown says:

    Would be more of a liability imo. Some decent talent there, tho far too prone tae the type of reckless challenges and clumsiness that can cost games or points. No for me.

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