Celtic have gone about the transfer business this summer in an efficient manner, securing targets at the top end of their list of targets but one player they could miss out on is Bright Osayi-Samuel.
The QPR forward is into the final year of his contract and Noel Whelan feels that, despite the obvious pull of a move to the champions, the lure of the Premier League could be too strong to turn down, as revealed in an interview with Football Insider.
So what has Whelan said?
When asked about the speculation surrounding the 22-year old, he said:
“Leeds were after him for a while.
“They were reportedly considering an offer and a player with his amount of quality, at that age is going to have options.
“Celtic and Rangers might be interested but a lad that is from London, if something comes up in and around him I have no doubt that he would choose that ahead of a move to Scotland, especially if it is an offer from a club in the Premier League.”
So is Whelan correct?
Unfortunately, yes. Whereas Celtic may be able to compete with most clubs from England’s top flight, trying to persuade a London-based player with options at a higher level in an around where he is based will always be an uphill battle.
Do Celtic punch above their weight in the transfer market?
Yes
No
The fact that clubs that are already in the Premier League find it difficult to compete with clubs from the capital when competing for overseas based players paints it’s own picture, thankfully, Osayi-Samuel is not a priority signing and if Neil Lennon misses out, he won’t be losing any sleep.
The signings of Albian Ajeti and Shane Duffy prove that Celtic still has an immense pulling power and will always be able to attract international calibre players, and for every Osayi-Sameul there is a Moussa Dembele or Odsonne Edouard – as the song goes, “thank you, next”.