Celtic have lost promising teenager Ben Doak in a deal worth around £500,000 to the Bhoys. The 16-year-old winger has joined up with Liverpool to provide a double blow to Celtic, as per 90min.
The Reds are also set to bring in another teenager in the form of Trent Kone-Doherty from Derry City. He had also been high on the list for Ange Postecoglou, who was keen to see him through the door at Celtic Park. So that’s two players Postecoglou has missed out on to Liverpool, surely leaving him frustrated.
Doak has clearly impressed at Celtic Park despite being so young. He has been on the bench four times this season for the Hoops, managing to get minutes in two of those games, so Postecoglou clearly had faith in him.
So what could these setbacks mean for Celtic? We look at some potential consequences below…
Will Celtic beat Rangers?Yes
No
|
Karamoko Dembele’s chance?
After losing Doak and missing out on Kone-Doherty, that’s two young wingers down for Celtic, freeing up minutes for other potential players to force their way into Postecoglou’s plans. Karamoko Dembele could well be the party that benefits from the double transfer blow.
The 19-year-old has had a season to forget so far, as he’s been sidelined for the majority of the campaign with an ankle injury, only recently returning to the squad. He has made two appearances for the Hoops this season, but that only equates to 20 minutes of senior action.
With Celtic effectively two men down in the wide areas, Dembele will be hoping that it provides him with an opportunity to save his Celtic career after a lengthy injury and show the gaffer what he can do. He has 10 appearances for Celtic, as per Transfermarkt, finding the back of the net once.
|
|
Ange Postecoglou’s frustration
To lose Doak will have been frustrating enough, especially when looking at his comments reported by 90min. He admitted he didn’t want players at the club that weren’t interested in representing them, so to lose Doak so early in his career will be frustrating.
Kone-Doherty could have been a like-for-like replacement for Doak had Postecoglou managed to bring him in at Celtic, but with him opting to follow Doak to Anfield, it leaves the manager looking for alternatives again at Celtic Park.
Thankfully, as we’ve already mentioned, Dembele can fill the void if he stays fit. The only problem is if he is third-choice to Postecoglou, you’d imagine he doesn’t rate him too highly, so it could leave the manager starting the recruitment process again to replace Doak.
In other news: Cameron Carter-Vickers setback for Celtic