OPINION
Celtic will regret failing to sign Manchester City defender Jason Denayer as his arrival at the club would have been good news.
Brendan Rodgers’ were previously reported as being in pole position for the 23-year-old centre-back by Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad earlier in August but it seems that the enforcer is on his way to France instead.
The Hoops clearly had a chance of signing Denayer ahead of any other team as they were thought to be leading the race for him however it seems Lyon will be the ones benefiting from his services this season.
L’Equipe journalist Bilel Ghazi stated via his personal Twitter account on Sunday evening that the Man City defender was set to undergo a medical with the French club on Monday.
https://twitter.com/BilelGhazi/status/1031241222827008001
The deal to see Denayer join Lyon is pretty much all but done as their club president previously hinted that they had won the race to sign Denayer at the expense of the Hoops.
“Our new player is a Belgium international who has won the league with Galatasaray,” said Jean-Michel Aulas, as quoted by The Sun.
“He has plenty of references. Yes, it could well be Jason Denayer.”
Rodgers could have done with his club recruiting Denayer this summer as his current defence appears to be in a bit of mess and in need of some new personnel being added to it.
The 23-year-old who previously impressed while on loan at the Hoops in the 2014/15 season has a knack for successfully shielding the ball and holding off his opponents to stop them have clear-cut chances at goal.
Denayer, who earns £25,000-a-week at Manchester City (Source: Spotrac) is also capable of playing in midfield as well as at right-back so would have given Rodgers options on how to utilise his talent.
This all means that the Hoops will regret failing to sign Denayer when they clearly had a chance of getting his signature as he would have aided Rodgers’ quest for silverware this season.