Kasper Schmeichel Shows Us What Celtic’s Transfer Policy And Window Ought To Be.

Amidst all the doom and gloom surrounding Celtic’s transfer window so far, there is one deal that still brings a smile. It shows us what this club can be and, more importantly, it proves the lie that quality players won’t come to Scotland.

That deal, of course, is the one that brought Kasper Schmeichel here.

Kasper Schmeichel exemplifies what our transfer policy could—and should—be. Concerns about resale value? They’re irrelevant.

Whether or not we can turn a profit on him isn’t the point. The value of Schmeichel lies in what he brings to the starting XI and the dressing room. These are the kinds of intangibles that you can’t put a price on, even if our board tries to.

Schmeichel undoubtedly had other options. Even if there wasn’t interest from England—though there certainly was—or elsewhere in Europe, he could’ve gone somewhere else, probably the Far East or the US, and earned a massive salary as a marquee signing, coasting through the rest of his career in a football backwater. But he chose Celtic.

He won’t be paid as much at Celtic Park as he could’ve been elsewhere, but those other deals wouldn’t have given him what our club can: the chance to play in front of fantastic supporters, the opportunity to win more titles and trophies, and the chance to compete at the highest level in the Champions League.

Don’t listen to a single word the naysayers tell you about how Celtic isn’t an attractive option for top players; it is a lie. It’s a lie perpetuated by a board of directors trying to justify an increasingly indefensible policy.

Kasper Schmeichel disproves all of it.

He is unequivocally a Brendan Rodgers signing, and he shows us what a Brendan Rodgers transfer policy might look like. What Rodgers says about Schmeichel reflects his overall philosophy and outlook for this club. Schmeichel brings experience, wisdom, leadership—qualities that inspire the dressing room and set a fantastic example for our younger players.

We’ve also signed our own young goalkeeper, and no matter how good our coaching is or how much we throw him in at the deep end, the smartest move we’ve made in this window—or in any window for a while—is bringing in a top-class performer like Schmeichel to mentor him.

He’ll learn more walking alongside Schmeichel, getting advice from someone who’s been at the top of the game for most of his career, than he ever would being thrown into the deep end or playing second fiddle to someone less experienced.

That gravitas, that experience—that’s what Rodgers thinks should be spread across the team.

When we sign too many project players, we waste money. Rodgers wasn’t going to risk his job or our season by throwing them in before they were ready and there were too many of them for any kind of coherent one-on-one coaching or mentor-mentee relationships.

If we bring in a player with the long-term goal of him one day filling Callum McGregor’s shoes, that’s doable and feasible. But he needs to have McGregor as a role model, so he can shadow him, and learn from him. You can develop a player that way.

But if your policy is scattershot—bringing in five players and hoping one can do that—you’re not just wasting four of them, you’re wasting all of them. None will develop that crucial one-on-one relationship; none will have that pupil-teacher bond.

Rodgers knows this team needs more teachers, not more pupils.

A few more steady, seasoned pros with something to teach would do more for this squad than a dozen young prospects with lots to learn. It’s astonishing that the board doesn’t grasp this simple concept, and frustrating that some of our fans don’t see the need for it either.

The real frustration with this window is how little it actually needed to deliver in terms of numbers. This team didn’t need a full-scale rebuild.

If we’d gone out at the start of the window and signed Schmeichel, Idah and Bernardo we’d only need a left-back, a centre-back, a backup striker, and a solid central midfielder and we’d be looking at a very decent squad. Four experienced footballers—four players with gravitas—could’ve raised us that little bit higher.

Kasper Schmeichel, and all the talk about what he’s already brought to the dressing room and the club, is the poster boy for what this window could have been.