Schalke sporting director Rouven Schroeder has made the claim Celtic were ‘desperate’ to sign Ko Itakura from Manchester City before the Japanese star made the move Schalke this summer.
Celtic were linked with the centre-back for the full summer and there was hope a deal could be done for the centre-back. In the end, Celtic signed Carl Starfelt and brought in Cameron Carter-Vickers on loan to bulk up their options in defence.
Shroeder claimed Celtic had been scoring Ko for over a year and had their eye firmly on the defender before the German club stepped in as cited by SunSport: “It took a lot of patience to sign him from Manchester City.
“For example, Celtic had tracked him for a year and were desperate to sign him, but we managed to beat them to it.
“We had to wait and wait and the deal could not be completed until the Olympic football tournament had finished which probably helped us.
“But it was worth it in the end and has been a fantastic signing for us.”
Ko looked the part and it would have been great to get him in the door at Celtic Park but it wasn’t to be.
You wouldn’t believe how many deals can fall through in one transfer window – especially the one Celtic have just came out of.
Ange Postecoglou was never keen on confirming names of players he was chasing because he knew how complex deals can be and sometimes they just don’t get over the line.
Ange made a point of not just looking at players talent, but their attitude to the game and how they conduct themselves. When Joe Hart signed for the club, Ange wanted to speak with the Englishman before the move. The Celtic gaffer had no issues with Joe’s talent but wanted to get a feel for him as a human being.
There will be lots of stories like Ko Itakura – most of them will not be spoken about. In this instance, we have a sporting director who wants to let his own fans know he pushed for deals to ultimately get the credit.
