He was Scottish footballs hottest property when he burst onto the club scene as a young sixteen year old. A tricky winger that could beat a man easily but also had an eye for goal. Ryan Gauld made his first appearance as a young 16 year old for Dundee Utd coming on as a late substitution in The Terrors final match of season 2011/12 in a 2-0 win over Motherwell.
Gauld never got his first start for the club until almost a full year later where he made the first team line up against St Johnstone at McDairmid Park in a 1-1 draw where he marked his first senior start with a goal.
It was season 2013/14 where the young Scottish midfielder made his name and in his 39 appearances, his 8 goals and eleven assists earned him a £3m move to Portugal with Sporting CP and a whopping six year contract and a €60m minimum fee release clause in his contract.
Gauld spent most of his time at Sporting in the reserve league and only made 2 first team appearances for the first team during his tenure at the club but also had loan spells ate Vitoria de Setubal, Aves, Farense and Hibs before leaving Sporting to join Farense on a permanent deal in July 2019.
Gaul seems to have recaptured his old form that earned him the move to Portugal way back in 2014 as he is receiving rave reviews about his performances for the relegation threatened Farense. In 18 appearances so far he has scored 5 and created 4 assists in form that has Sporting CP looking at bringing the attacking midfielder back the the Leöes.
Gauld is out of contract in the summer and it seems this could be a bargain signing for a man that already knows the Scottish game and has a style of play that is suited to Celtic’s game. At just 25 years old, Gauld still has his best years ahead of him and obviously still has a lot to offer as clubs from Europe and the MLS look to court his signature.
With the predicted mass exodus from Celtic in the summer of players such as Ntcham, Rogic and Christie seemingly in the offing, Gauld could be a risk free signing Celtic can’t afford to miss.
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