With reports linking Shane Duffy with a move to Parkhead, Neil Lennon finally appears to be addressing what has been a major concern since football returned in Scotland.
It took long enough to sign a replacement for the departed duo of Craig Gordon and Fraser Forster with the signing of Greek international Vasilios Barkas but with Jozo Simunovic leaving in June and Jack Hendry never likely to feature, surely a centre-half was of greater importance than securing a back-up to Odsonne Edouard?
What makes the lack of movement in this department all the more bizarre is that Lennon played with three centre-halves for almost the whole of 2020, a formation that saw them drop points just once on their way to a comfortable title triumph – if anything, all Covid-19 did was deny them a record breaking triumph and save Steven Gerrard’s job.
In the case of Duffy, there is already speculation linking him with permanent moves to other Premier League clubs in England and Celtic just don’t have the resources to compete on that sort of level – the £18.5million transfer of Aaron Ramsdale to Sheffield United says it all.
If Brighton aren’t happy with the terms on offer for a loan deal, Celtic should move on, likewise, if the Republic of Ireland international has to think about what is best for his career, then he should be given an ultimatum.
It shouldn’t be hard to decide between playing for a Champions League club, who will dominate silverware domestically, especially if it is your “boyhood club” when the alternative is playing in another relegation battle – Celtic shouldn’t be made to wait for a player that is hardly Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Is Shane Duffy better than the current Celtic centre-halves?
Yes
No
The Parkhead scouting team has, in the past, unearthed defensive gems in the shape of Virgil van Dijk, Filip Benkovic, Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien, they should be trusted to do so again without the need to be sitting by the telephone.