Celtic’s midfielder is doing just fine without the likes of Adrien Trebel.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, the French midfielder, who the Hoops faced last season going up against Belgian outfit Anderlecht, claimed this week that he was in advanced talks with Celtic, Porto and Hertha BSC during the summer transfer window.
Sadly for him, no club was willing to pay the £10m asking price, leaving him at Anderlecht for another season.
It’s of course unlikely that Celtic were ever going to pay that amount of money for a player with limited resale value at 27 years of age, but is an interesting glimpse into the kind of target we were looking at in the wake of Stuart Armstrong’s sale to Southampton.
With the homegrown talent at the club excelling over the last month, is there any need to dip into the transfer market for a big money midfield signing?
The performances of Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie last night would suggest not. Both players were more than a match for RB Leipzig’s expensive eleven, showing defensive discipline and attacking ambition in equal measure.
There are of course depth issues in the middle of the park, especially after the injury to Eboue Kouassi, but with Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham due to return, it’s hardly a priority position heading into another transfer window on January 1st.
Priorities do remain elsewhere, right-back springs immediately to mind, but the Hoops have invested well in the midfield over the last few years, both developing homegrown talent and nurturing signings, meaning we have a European quality central area – with or without Adrien Trebel.
Would you like to sign another central midfielder in the January transfer window? Have your say in the comments below…