The Arne Engels rumours this weekend just hours before Monday’s deadline are interesting but more importantly a snap shot of how broke the Celtic recruiting and transfer system has become.
It’s reported Forest are eyeing the Celtic midfielder in a late deal that would see a substantial fee handed over for the Belgian. [Florian Plettinburg]
Arne has blown hot and cold but the price tag he came into Celtic with has been an albatross around his neck. Anything he does is seen through the prism of the money the Hoops shelled out for him.
However, had Celtic been prepared and had a working scouting system. They could have perhaps entertained the idea of selling the midfielder. Much like Maeda back in the summer, their lack of planning meant they couldn’t let go of a player who wanted to leave.
The same will now happen with Engels. Celtic are struggling to find players for the positions that need major attention and have done for over a year. There is no way they have a midfielder identified and ready to sign if they were to sell any of their central midfielders before the deadline.
Engels will still have a big part to play this season and plays regularly under O’Neill so there should be little chance of a move as the deadline approaches.
The Hoops are trying to do business on a number of fronts as we write this. They have a medical booked for Junior Adamu and reports elsewhere claim they are closing in on Norweigan winger Joel Mvuka.
It has taken to very late in the window for proper moved to be made. Something we have grown accustomed to as Hoops fans with our basket case board. They ended up paying over the odds for Sebastian Tounekti and Balikwisha in the summer because they were running around trying to get deals over the line.
It’s hardly befitting of a club of Celtic’s stature. All we can hope for is for Martin O’Neill to pull off a minor miracle and for this board, especially our CEO Michael Nicholson and CFO Chris McKay leave the building in the next four months and a new start and strategy comes into play this summer.
