CAMILO DURAN CELTIC SIGNING: INTENTION OR PACIFICATION?
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
By the time you read this, Camilo Duran may already have been unveiled as a Celtic player. The Colombian forward should, unless there’s any last-minute drama (and let’s face it, this is Celtic we’re talking about so that isn’t impossible), complete his switch from Azerbaijani side FK Qarabag.
Reports put the fee somewhere between 5 or 6 million Euros. This is no small amount of money, at least where Celtic’s recent transfer activity is concerned. The question is though, is this a taste of things to come or merely another act of short-term pacification for an increasingly restless Celtic support?
Is Camilo Duran Celtic Move a One-off or Part of a Wider Plan of Investment?
Of course, the more cynical, or some would say realistic elements of the fanbase (myself included) will probably assume this is a one-off until we see otherwise.
It is interesting to ponder though, because many will point to the example of Benjamin Nygren last season. Ostensibly, he was signed as a replacement for the departing Nicholas Kuhn albeit for around a tenth of the fee Celtic reportedly received from Como for the German winger.
The Camilo Duran Celtic story, however, is a little less clear cut. As a striker who can also play on the right wing, it is not immediately obvious who he is replacing. If, as we all suspect, the likes of Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate are to leave Celtic in the coming days, then Duran doesn’t really fit the mold as a replacement for any of them.
On the face of it, this would appear to show a significant shift in Celtic’s recent signing policy.
Firstly, it’s refreshing to see significant investment in a new player before any of our current high-value assets have been sold.
However, perhaps even more crucially, it’s hopefully a strong sign of the backing we all hope Martin O’Neill will receive for the much-needed rebuild and refresh of the squad over the next few weeks. When was the last time Celtic spent 6 million on a player, and we aren’t even sure where he’s going to fit into the team?
I’m choosing to see this as a positive for the time being. Though I certainly wouldn’t blame anyone for being a bit more pessimistic about it all. We are less than a month away from the start of the season now, our closest rivals have strengthened significantly.
Rangers have made a couple of decent signings too.
Celtic have a lot of work to do, on and off the park, and precious little time to do it. The World Cup will be used as an excuse for our inactivity in the transfer market to date, but it really isn't acceptable, especially since pretty much any players at the tournament that Celtic could afford have now been eliminated.
We need signings. Duran is a good start, but for now, that's all he is.
The next couple of weeks will be very interesting indeed.