On the face of it, yesterday, Celtic signed a 19-year-old striker from Fulham and people who don’t want it to be seen as a big deal will categorise it in such a way.
However, the signing of Moussa Dembele from Craven Cottage on a four-year deal is not merely just another youngster signing, but a statement by the new boss and the club.
The player has been courted by many clubs since January and was close to signing for Spurs back in that same window, only for talks to break down between the two clubs and Moussa remained at Fulham.
When Celtic were linked with him as far back as last month I gave a shrug of my shoulders and thought ‘no chance’, similar to what I did when I heard Celtic were in for Brendan Rodgers. Low and behold, the club came through on both deals and I have to say I’m taken aback.
Having seen the striker in action and read into the furore around teams vying for his signature, not just the same old bluster from the same old media outlets but a point of fact that Moussa was in very high demand but still chose to come to Celtic – it says a lot about the player and the direction in which our club is going.
The noise coming from down south is one of disbelief that Celtic have managed to procure such a raw talent over many other teams.
There have been plenty of Celtic fans on this site and our social media feeds moaning about the lack of inward transfer activity since Brendan Rodgers took over and how we should have signed 4 or 5 by now. Personally, I think the manager and the club are taking the correct well-measured approach to bringing players in. Being too cavalier in the past has cost us dearly, literally, when it comes to strikers. A more methodical approach to who we bring is certainly welcome as far as I’m concerned.
Celtic are a more attractive proposition under Brendan Rodgers, there’s no getting away from that. But while some go gung-ho with their transfer policy, signing anyone of note that will agree to come to their club, Brendan is taking his time to get the right set of players that will enhance what is a good team.
I look forward to seeing who else the manager has his eye on. Irishman Shane Duffy’s name keeps being mentioned and that would be another astute bit of business if Celtic could get him. Whoever comes in now will have the Brendan Rodgers stamp of approval and if we’ve heard of that player or not, that will be good enough for me.
There’s something special happening at Celtic.
I can’t wait for the season to start!
