Celtic’s chaotic summer window has come under fresh scrutiny after it emerged that Sebastian Tounekti was valued at less than half the fee the Hoops eventually paid.
The Tunisian winger joined from Hammarby on deadline day for £5.5m, arriving at Parkhead with just over an hour of the window left. While Brendan Rodgers views him as someone who can play off the right and indirectly replace Nicolas Kuhn, the deal has sparked debate over value for money.
Speaking on The Go Radio Football Show, journalist Mark Guidi revealed that English Championship clubs had looked at Tounekti but rejected him at a much lower price.
“I think it was a very disappointing transfer window for Celtic,” said Guidi. “Some of the fees that they’ve paid, I’m led to believe that the Tunisian winger, Tounekti, that he was on the radar of a couple of English Championship clubs during the window.
“They decided not to go for him and they believed that the fee was between two and a half to three [million pounds] to secure him and Celtic have paid over five [million] by all accounts.”
Tounekti’s signing came amid a backdrop of frustration at Celtic’s business. Nicolas Kuhn left for Como without a direct replacement, Adam Idah went to Swansea City on deadline day, and Kyogo’s January exit has still not been addressed. Yang was close to leaving before his move collapsed at the final hurdle, and Daizen Maeda admitted he had agreed terms with a club, thought to be from Germany, before Celtic blocked the transfer.
Rodgers had been clear that his squad needed a refresh, but instead the summer closed with more questions than answers. Tounekti’s fee, and the circumstances of his arrival, have only fuelled the anger directed at the Celtic board for what many fans view as a shambolic window.
I commented about this a few weeks ago, that due to the board f4nnying about last year and leaving it late it cost us £6m extra for Engels and Idah.
Now this year it has cost us an extra £3m for Tounekti for the exact same reason.
These are the guys (the board) that say that they strive to make Celtic the best in every department, yet blame Uefa and everyone but themselves and make the same mistake this year costing the club millions.
Seems they are unable to learn from their mistakes.
There is a famous quote:
“A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly yet expecting a different set of results.”
Says it all really!