Celtic podcaster Lawrence Connolly thinks that the club need to consider loaning out Christopher Jullien in the January transfer window.
The French defender is on his way back from a rather serious injury that has seen him out of action since December 2020, but indications in November were that his return to playing has been put on hold.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou stated: “We still need to do some work with Chris. I know people are anxious but we are not quite there. This was sort of seen as a likely return date but we have just got to be careful.”
Speaking on the A Celtic State of Mind podcast, Connolly felt that his time at the club may be up, but that given the nature of his injuries, it might be hard to find someone to buy him, and that a loan might be one way to ease the defender out in the meantime.
He said: “He’s pulling a big wage from us, it might be time just to move him on. Either way, he’s going to need to play before anyone’s going to buy him – no one’s going buy a player that’s been out for a year injured.
“So he’s going to need game time and I don’t think he’s going to get it with us this season. So if he is back some time in the next few weeks when the transfer window is open, I’d try and get him a loan move to get him some game time.
“But whether another club’s going to be willing to pay any of his wages or a loan fee for a guy that’s not played in a year, we may have to put him out without a loan fee and still pay a lot of his wages.”
TIF Thoughts on Lawrence Connolly’s comments about Christopher Jullien and Celtic…
Will you be glad to see Jullien return from injury?
Yes
No
Celtic certainly do have a number of central defenders available for them to choose from, so it’s not as if the club desperately need Jullien back in the side, and they can afford to let him go for a few more months.
But as Connolly states, it might be tough for Celtic to find a club that’s willing to take him on. Unless Celtic are willing to pay a significant amount of his wages, which, as per SalarySport, stand at £20,000 per week, in order for him to play elsewhere so that clubs don’t have the financial risk associated, it’s hard to see who is going to take him on, especially if his return date is still up in the air.
So whether he is back from injury or not, it seems like his future very much hangs in the balance.
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