OK CELTIC, I GIVE UP. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
I wrote earlier today that Kasper Dolberg was still a possibility for Celtic despite interest from former club Ajax.
I then wrote that according to sources in Sweden, Tunisia and Scotland, Celtic’s move for Hammarby winger Sebastian Tounekti was all but complete.
However, I did preface my thoughts by saying, a lot could happen in the next few hours.
Fast forward an hour or two later, and a lot has happened. All of it bad for Celtic.
Celtic’s “Leave it Late” Approach Blows Up in our Faces Like Never Before
First of all, Dolberg appears to have made it clear that he wants to go back to Amsterdam, and Anderlecht are currently locked in discussions with Ajax over a permanent deal.
I did offer the brief sliver of hope in my last piece on Dolberg that the lack of a permanent transfer offer from Ajax may yet scupper the deal, allowing Celtic back in. However, it seems the clubs are close to agreeing a loan with an obligation to buy, which works both for Ajax’s financial compliance, and Anderlecht’s lack of funds.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, in another devasting blow, apparently the move for Sebastian Tounekti from Hammarby has hit the buffers too.
After weeks of insisting they wanted at least 5 million, Celtic finally coughed up a bid of 5.2 which, less an hour ago appeared to have sealed the deal.
However, much like a Rangers fan telling us “We’re coming”, it seems we were a bit premature.
That 3rd has, seemingly been rejected, despite the player being keen on the move and Celtic, finally, meeting his club”s valuation.
Sweden’s transfer window closed yesterday, so even if we doubled out offer, we probably wouldn’t get the player, since Hammarby now have no means of bringing in a replacement for their star man until January.
Much like Dolberg, this is another transfer that could have been settled weeks ago if Celtic had just “got the finger oot” and got the deals done.
Yet, once again, our dithering has cost us, and considering how utterly bereft of attacking flair we looked at Snake Mountain yesterday, this doesn’t bode well for the season ahead.
Both the manager and the board now have 2 weeks before they need to face any public scrutiny for this series of collective f*ck ups, and as usual, I suspect the Celtic board will take their typical “ignore the problem until it goes away” approach.
In the meantime, get your credit cards out because I’m sure they won’t be shy about contacting us with Europa League ticket solicitations and the launch of the official, authentic “we got pumped by Kairat and all we got was this shirt” commemorative Adidas jersey.
Its almost 1am here in Japan, and I’ve no intention of pulling an all-nighter in the hopes Celtic pull a last-minute miracle and manage to get a striker, two wingers and a social conscience.
I close out this article, or perhaps it could better be described as a rant, by saying this.
I am sorry. I gave our board, our manager and our club the benefit of the doubt. I believed that we would leave it late but that ultimately, we would land the players we need to put up a decent showing in Europe. I believed that even with his depleted resources, our manager had the tactical awareness to see off “Terry Vegetables” and his utterly abysmal Rangers side yesterday.
I was wrong on both counts.
They say “keep the faith”. That’s a good mantra, both for following Celtic and for life in general. Believe in yourself and others, believe that things can and will get better. I’m still trying to do that.
But I have to be honest and say that, with this, the pinnacle of a series of shambolic transfer windows for Celtic, my faith in the team, the manager and most of all our custodians is more shaken than it has probably ever been since the early 90s.
I’m off to bed now. I can only hope that by the time I wake up tomorrow Celtic have proven me wrong yet again, and this article looks like nothing more than the ramblings of an angry idiot.
Somehow though, I seriously doubt that will be the case.