EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - SEPTEMBER 21: Kasper Dolberg of AFC Ajax runs with the ball during the Dutch Eredivisie match between PSV and AFC Ajax at Philips Stadion on September 21, 2025 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by Pieter van der Woude/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Kasper Dolberg had a chance to come to Celtic in the summer transfer window and famously chose Ajax. If that move didn’t work out, then boo-hoo. Nobody should get a second chance once they turn Celtic down. One shot. That should be it.
As I see it, Dolberg had his chance to prove that he was ready to play for Celtic. If he hesitated, if he was not ready to devote himself completely to this club, then he does not deserve another opportunity.
There are some doors in football that open softly, almost politely. There are others that swing wide with history, expectation and a roar that can shake a player to his bones. Celtic is not a quiet doorway. It never has been, and it never will be.
When that door opens, you either step through it with conviction, or you let it close and accept that it may never open for you again.
Now here we are, circling back to Kasper Dolberg, a name that refuses to drift away quietly. He is a player of undeniable talent. A striker who, on his day, can glide across the pitch with that almost deceptive elegance. Never rushed. Never flustered. Calm, clinical and composed. Yet for all that ability, I keep coming back to the same question.
Why should any player be revisited once they’ve turned Celtic down?
I remember the closing days of that window. Being linked with a striker of his experience and talent was the only high point. I remember the possibility hanging in the air like the first note of a song. More importantly, I remember that it did not happen. The move did not materialise. Once Ajax came in that was that.
The moment passed. In football, moments matter.
I look at Kyogo Furuhashi and see the same thing. He too was linked with a return in that window. He too chose to stay put. Disastrous choices both.
Because I don’t believe Celtic should ever be a fallback option. I don’t believe this club should be a second choice, a “maybe later,” or a safety net for when things elsewhere don’t quite work out. Celtic demands more than that.
Celtic demands hunger. It demands belief. It demands that a player looks at the badge and thinks, “that is where I belong”, not “that will do if nothing better comes along.”
Maybe that sounds harsh. Maybe it sounds uncompromising. But I don’t think Celtic has ever been built on compromise. So, when I hear that Dolberg might be back on the radar for this upcoming summer window, I find myself conflicted, but only briefly. The more I think about it, the clearer it becomes. He had his chance.
That should be enough when the opportunity is Celtic.
Footballers talk all the time about “projects,” “pathways” and “next steps,” but Celtic is not just another step on a career ladder. It is a stage. A pressure cooker. A place where expectation does not sit quietly. It roars. It consumes.
He did not want the special thrill of playing at Celtic Park. For me, players who come here need to have that need. That, ultimately, is what I want to see. I want a player who looks at Celtic Park under the lights and feels something stir in his chest.
Likewise, I want a striker who does not just see goals as numbers, but as moments that bind him to the supporters, the history and everything this club represents. Dolberg had that chance. Perhaps he thought he’d get it at Ajax as Kyogo thought he’d get it at Birmingham. In the end, it is unfortunate for them that things didn’t work out.
Now, I am not saying Dolberg is not a good player. Far from it. On ability alone, he could offer something. Movement. Intelligence. Composed finishing that can unlock tight games. Indeed, in another context, at another club, he might be exactly what is needed.
But, crucially, Celtic is not just about fitting into a system. Instead, it is about embodying something bigger. I can’t shake the feeling that if you turn this club down once, if you pause, hesitate or fail to grab it with both hands, then you have already answered the question of whether you truly want it. That is why, as I see it, there should not be a second chance. Not out of spite. Not out of bitterness. Not even out of pride. Rather, out of principle.
If that happens, and Celtic starts waiting around for players who were not sure the first time, something fundamental begins to shift. The standard changes. The identity softens. That, in turn, is a dangerous road to go down.
Personally, I want players who choose Celtic first. I want players who don’t need convincing. I want players who would walk through that door without looking back. Of course, maybe that means missing out on the odd talented player who comes around again later, ready this time and willing this time. Even so, I’m fine with that. Truly.
Because, in return, what you gain is something far more valuable: a squad built on conviction, not one here out of convenience.
So, when I hear the noise around Dolberg once more, I don’t feel excitement. I don’t feel anticipation. Instead, I wonder why we’d bother. Celtic should move on. Even if he’s offered to us and can’t wait to sign, we should take a pass.
Ultimately, the principle matters.
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James, you have been telling us all season that Celtic has no credibility left any more on the European scene and now you give us this?
Any player given the choice between Ajax and Celtic would make the same choice, it’s a no brainer.
Oops, Paulina not James……
Sorry Paulina – this isn’t living in the real world. 99% of players are professional and transactional, and understandably so.
Nonsense article, so we now only sign Celtic minded players???
Ajax was the only choice. Ajax are a massive club with a glorious history. 4 times champions of Europe. They have won every trophy europe has to offer. Played in the UCL semi final just a few seasons ago. Play in a league with competition, not a one horse race.
It was the only choice for a player with ambition.
Lets remember several players only come here or comeback because they have failed to make it or are finished in the big time.
Even our manager Rodgers was only here because he failed at Liverpool. Only here a 2nd time because he got sacked by Leicester.
It would have been madness for Dolberg to turn down one of the most successful clubs in the world to play in our backwater.
Yep, youre not in the real world Paulina
Ah Paulina, wouldn’t it be great if all players felt the stirring in the heart at the thought of playing in the hoops, but it is a job of work to them with the odd exception, McStay, Forrest, McGregor etc. Unlike the Di Canios, Cadette etc where there was a leetle problem. Others have left or turned down the hoops for more money or whatever was on offer and who can blame them and have found out the hard way that the green is at Celtic Park and not far off fields. Personally I could watch eleven hooped shirts on a washing line and imagine the ball being knocked about. We can all dream an maybe someday our dreams become reality when the board treats the club with the ambition that might just encourage the great players to really want to play at Celtic Park wearing the hooped shirts.