Journalist Derek McGregor has recently criticised the club’s transfer policy, stating that it has led to the downfall this season.
Celtic transfers were a major talking point on the latest episode of the Celtic Huddle podcast and the panel talked about numerous issues involving the club. McGregor gave his views about the transfer policy of signing younger players, saying that it is one of the big reasons behind the club’s downfall.
McGregor believes that too often, Celtic have gone for a younger player so that they can get a resale value, instead of going for an established player.
Do Celtic need to change their approach in the market?
Yes
No
The Hoops spent a fee of £14.13 million on transfers in the current season and while David Turnbull has impressed, the likes of Diego Laxalt and Shane Duffy return to their parent clubs soon. Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas have failed to become regulars.
While talking about the club’s transfers, McGregor stated (43:55): “I think that’s quite honestly one of the big reasons behind Celtic’s demise over the last year. I think too many times they’ve gone for a project rather than a proven, established player. Celtic have lost their way badly.”
TIF Thoughts on Celtic transfers…
Odsonne Edouard was signed by Celtic when he was pretty young and the same applies to Ryan Christie. Even Kristoffer Ajer was signed when the Norwegian was a teenager. Jeremie Frimpong, who left in January, was also signed for a cheap fee from Manchester City.
This shows that Celtic certainly do have the model of signing younger players. But having said that, some of the players signed last summer were a lot older. That includes the likes of Barkas, Ajeti, Duffy and Laxalt. Despite that, they have failed to make an impact. This suggests that the problem doesn’t lie in signing project players but in not identifying talent in the right manner.
In other news: ‘There have been no leaks’ – Hugh Keevins surprised by ‘astonishing’ Celtic situation