Why this Manchester City man SHOULD pack his bags for Celtic:

Last season was a sign to Craig Bellamy that Roberto Mancini and Manchester City no longer wanted him at Eastlands.

Being moved on loan to a Championship side is clear evidence of that. Even though for Bellamy it was a chance to play for his home town club of Cardiff City, where he scored 11 goals and helped them reach the play-offs semi-finals, such a good quality striker shouldn’t have been languishing in a lower division when he has still got what it takes to compete in the Premier League.

This summer Mancini has planned a major clear out of the fringe players from the squad including Wayne Bridge, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Bellamy himself. Speculation to where these players are destined has been filling the back pages of every newspaper in recent weeks.

Recently the Guardian reported that Stoke City, Sunderland and Blackburn are all in the race for the Welshman’s signature either on loan or on a permanent basis. But the name that should interest the forward the most is Glasgow Celtic.

In early 2005, whilst at Newcastle United, Bellamy was sent out on loan to the Scottish Premier League side. He quickly became a popular hit at Celtic Park scoring nine goals in the rest of their season, just missing out on the SPL title but did help the Hoops to the Scottish Cup, beating Motherwell 1-0 in the final.

At 31-years-old, Bellamy is reaching the point in his career where, though he can still score goals in the Premiership, the chance of injuries and fatigue whilst trying to keep up with the division’s pace are considerably high. So therefore the perfect solution for the forward is obviously the SPL with Celtic.

Playing for the Bhoys, Bellamy will get a good standard of competitive football, with the chance of Champions League football that you just can’t get in the Championship. It would also give him the chance to accumulate more silverware with the league and two cup competitions to go at, which with Celtic, usually guarantees at least first or second place and the semi-finals. It would also allow him to continue the success of his previous spell with the club as well as spear-head the attacking line up making it a true force with the likes of last season’s top goal-scorer Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes.

The only stumbling block would be Bellamy’s £90,000 a week wages. For Celtic that’s just too much money for them to take on. However negotiations with the player would be able to overcome this problem and failing that then there could be the chance of Bellamy moving to Celtic initially on loan with Manchester City paying the majority of his wages with a view to a permanent deal later on either in January or at the end of the upcoming season.

Either way the move would surely be the most ideal for Celtic and Bellamy. For Celtic, a fantastic player who is still scoring goals at will and has a good few years left in him. And for Bellamy, the chance to cement himself in the Legends section of Parkhead with trophies and glory that his career deserves.

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