MIOVSKI CELTIC, RANGERS LINKS: IF CELTIC WANT HIM, WE’LL GET HIM
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Most of the talk about Celtic’s striker recruitment over the last few days has centered on two names: Shin Yamada, of Kawasaki Frontale, and Napoli’s Giuseppe Ambrosino.
However, one name that continues to linger in the background is that of former Aberdeen frontman Bojan Miovski.
According to reports this morning, Celtic have some local competition if we want to land the Macedonian international. That competition comes from none other than our old pals across the city, the Govan £1.49ers.
Yes, in a break from their usual signing policy since the new owner took charge of loans and “undisclosed fees”, Rangers are, allegedly, about to pay actual money for a new player.
So, with Miovski, is a Celtic and Rangers bidding war about to commence?
No, I don’t think so.
For Miovski Celtic, Rangers Both Viable, but This “Story” has an Agent’s Grubby Fingerprints All Over it
I think this one calls for a bit of debunking. Call it an educated guess, though I prefer the term “journalistic intuition”, even if it does sound a bit pretentious.
Let me start by posing a question: What do you do if you’re Bojan Miovski’s agent?
You’re representing a footballer, who you know has talent, but who badly needs a transfer to kick start his career again. It’s not going to work for him at Girona, and Celtic would be a great option. Most Celtic fans rate Miovski from his time at Aberdeen.
Indeed many felt we should have gone for him in January 2024 instead of taking Adam Idah on loan.
So, the enthusiasm is there, the player would be keen, and Girona have, at this point, probably accepted they’ll need to take a hit on the 7 million they paid for him.
The only problem is, Celtic have since cast their net far wider in the search for a new striker and unearthed a couple of realistic options in Japan and Italy who are potentially just as good, but a lot cheaper.
Enter Rangers, and their recurring role as everyone’s favorite useful idiots.
By creating a story that says Rangers might be interested in the player, perhaps the agent hopes to resurrect Celtic’s now cooled interest in the player.
Indeed, several agents tried this back in the 90s and early 2000s during the heyday of David Murray’s “For every fiver Celtic spend, we’ll spend a tenner” financial seppuku at Ibrox.
Fans of a certain age will remember when Rangers revelled in hijacking a deal for Dundee’s Dariusz Adamczuk to go to Celtic.
Then Celtic Chief Executive, Allan McDonald responded with one of the most withering putdowns in Scottish football history. “At Celtic, we don't sign squad players. But good luck to him. I”m sure he’ll be a great “squad player” wherever he goes.” That was in 1999.
In the end, McDonald was proven to be exactly right. Adamczuk only made 13 appearances in his 3 years at Rangers (Requiescat in Pace).
Fast forward to today, and I see the same scenario playing out. If Celtic wanted Miovski, we would either have signed him by now, or at least began discussions, as we have with representatives for Yamada, Ambrosino and other players that we are currently interested in.
Miovski’s agent probably knows fine and well that Rangers probably can't afford the fee Girona would want. However, he hopes that by stoking old rivalries he can nudge Celtic back into the fold.
It won’t work. It didn't work in 1999 and 26 years later, it won't work again. If however, the strategy does once again railroad Rangers into paying over the odds for a player just out of spite then that would be hilarious.
However, for all his flaws, Andrew Cavenagh does not strike me as someone who is afflicted with the same “Loadsamoney” mentality that brought down David Murray.
Bojan Miovski is an undoubtedly talented footballer and I hope he does get a move somewhere this summer to kickstart his career again. That being said, I don’t think he’ll be returning to Scotland.