Celtic’s Dutch Defender Link May Be A Dud, But The Idea Makes Sense.

It’s almost that time of the year again, the time when transfer stories and rumours are all the rage and where they inspire even those of us who do not want to write them to do so.

I know I’m going to have to make this judgement call when the time comes, so you could say that I’m starting early and getting my first one of the summer in right now.

Tonight we’re linked with a Dutch defender with a long name and an impressive pedigree. He ticks a lot of the Celtic boxes; he’s young, capable of rapid development and he comes with a good technical skillset. He’s also 6’5 and something of a monster, and anyone who thinks we got bullied on Saturday will welcome that.

Xavier Mbuyamba would appear to fit the profile.

As long as his club – Volendam in the Dutch league – isn’t talking crazy money he’s within reach.

The competition will be fierce. Ajax like him, amongst others, although there are issues with English clubs offering him a contract because there would be some significant obstacles to his getting a work permit.

All that aside, he fits a position which people widely accept that we need to fill. He sounds like a no-nonsense footballer who can handle the technical side of the game; that’s clearly an important requirement. We’re not looking for players who defend mainly by throwing themselves at the ball and hoofing it as far up the park as they can.

He’s in the right age group; at 21, he’s the perfect age with the right amount of first team experience that we’re not taking some wild punt but not enough that the big guns have already drawn their conclusions and are starting to sniff around him.

We can offer him a place in a settled squad, at a happy club, with Champions League football ahead of us and a platform from which to take the next step in his career when the time is right.

If the story today is correct it’s a perfect fit in many ways.

The thing that throws me is that the press is clearly on a fishing expedition here. Celtic may or may not be interested in this kid, but it’s no surprise that Ange has already openly mocked them for getting their “stabs in the dark” in early.

“We’re doing our work but people trying to identify who we’re trying to earmark for next year, it’s fair to say if they’re taking punts now they’re well, well, well off the mark,” he said, and that just days ago in relation to rumours about the Japanese midfielder Ryotaro Ito.

So I wonder if this is not another of those … although the idea is right, the player sounds like a good fit with the team building and the philosophy, and it comes at a time when you can’t help but think we’re looking at that area of the team.