SENTINELCELTS

“We need to be a bit more agile in the transfer market” Ange Postecoglou

I’m very conflicted writing about Celtic these days, the awkwardness of watching your team simultaneously under and over achieve.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted with our position and would have snapped your hand off in July, but ironically the team are not playing to their best. I’m not here to berate anyone, but rather offer some good news, possible good news, maybe probable good news.

Today marks only 19 days until the winter transfer window opens, the squad has needs, given further progression in the CL is a real possibility alongside the guaranteed income via results that’s already very considerable, a bit of wheeling and dealing is surely on the horizon.

As the title suggests we need to be very agile in this window and from now on, I consider the last 2 windows a success but no one could mount a rational argument that those tasked with getting the signatures were agile, the summer was a drawn out affair.

But last summer also revealed some very interesting links, scouting, and sounding out procedures. If you’ll cast your mind back to probably the earliest link, a young striker Kvistgaarden of Brondy, his potential selling club President threw a huge figure out there straight away, 9 million Euro I believe.
Around the middle of the window Polish midfielder Bogusz Of LA United was thrown into the mix, the hefty fee of 9/10 million was soon mainstream. We all thought that was that, Celtic don’t pay that kinda money. Little did we know but we were going to go even bigger on another striker/midfielder combo. Whether Adam and Arne were seen as better on the park, a better fit etc, I don’t know, but I have checked on the two players we opted out on.
The young striker has 10 goals and 4 assists in 15 games this season.
The midfielder, who’s season just finished here in the US, bagged 16 goals with 8 assists over 36 matches.

This isn’t about sour grapes or coulda/shoulda, but we are looking in the right place for those are seriously impressive numbers.
I understand why we couldn’t sign all 4 players mentioned above, but there’s a lesson to be learnt from the two that got away.

The price was named, the player must have been amenable to the move, the wages therefore would have been okayed,,we moved elsewhere on both occasions, but the instinct that he was a real player was correct. Now their value has increased, probably out of our range.
But there’s plenty of fish in the sea, with our January trading I don’t want any protracted links and rumours, rather some of the agility necessary to walk in and out with a deal signed.

The lure of the club has never been so strong,,,final stages of Europe’s top table!? Almost pays for a new player itself, and more than journeymen pro’s will fancy jumping aboard this train when they can be registered and prolong the continental fight, perhaps become the ultimate hero. When that occurs, if a good player becomes affordable in a there-and-then situation like Kvistgaarden or Bogusz, just bite the bloody bullet Celtic and sign that man up lest the fish wriggle loose.
Our position tells us the summer was successful, the getaways tell us the targets were on point, last winter brought us our best player,,,get back to that list and just pay the fee, finally find that agility,,that’s my first Christmas wish.

And you never know, new faces might just kick this team back into top gear with perfect timing. Stranger things have happened.

By Mahe
sentinelcelts@gmail.com