Celtic’s outgoing goalkeeper Ben Siegrist has pulled back the curtain on the club’s hush-hush transfer antics as he gears up to leave this summer. Siegrist, who moved over from Dundee United, ended up as the understudy’s understudy under Brendan Rodgers, spending more time on the bench than a lonely sandwich.
Joe Hart held the number one spot, while Scott Bain was the preferred backup. Despite not getting a sniff of action last season, Siegrist’s insights into Celtic’s clandestine transfer operations are as entertaining as they are enlightening.
Siegrist shared that upon signing for Celtic, he was booked into a hotel under a fake name, with everyone involved sworn to secrecy. It’s something I’ve been aware of for some time now, but something that a lot of fans might not know about the club. This secret squirrel method is less about media leaks and more about keeping things under wraps tighter than Tam from Still Game.
Fans often think Celtic have favourite journalists they feed transfer gossip to, with Stephen McGowan frequently accused of being the club’s chosen one. However, McGowan and his fellow sleuths actually dig up their own dirt. While it might seem like Celtic deliver exclusives on a silver platter, the reality is quite different. McGowan’s regular scoops are down to sheer doggedness, a sprinkle of luck, and asking the right people the right questions at the right time. The fact many believe the opposite is maybe a backhanded nod to McGowan’s work.
In the wild west of transfer rumours, Celtic’s secretive style stands out. While other clubs are blabbering away about potential signings, Celtic are as tight-lipped as a fish. Information usually seeps out through agents or intermediaries with a vested interest.
A tip-off about a player’s flight to Glasgow or tracking Celtic chief exec Michael Nicholson’s globe-trotting can sometimes piece together the transfer puzzle. Michael’s visit to Brendan Rodgers in Spain’s last season opened the floodgates to the return rumours, the club were not advertising it, especially when he hadn’t agreed to come back yet.
Occasionally, Celtic will outright deny a rumour, but their silence can be even more telling. If a rumour hits too close to home, the club’s rapid lockdown is a dead giveaway you’re onto something. From a Celtic perspective, the first time they want fans to hear of a new signing is when they drop the bomb on social media, complete with snazzy graphics and quotes from the player and manager. This way of doing business keeps everyone, including ourselves, on their toes.
The hunt for Joe Hart’s replacement is a case in point. The media is throwing out names faster than a bingo caller on speed, yet the club keeps schtum. When journalists or insiders do manage to snag an exclusive, it’s undoubtedly the result of some serious legwork or the payoff to building relationships in football throughout the years,
Every whisper of transfer gossip is gobbled up by fans, Celtic’s disciplined secrecy is both infuriating, but also the right way to do business.
