Celtic could face a nervous wait to see if the likes of Kristoffer Ajer will remain at the club beyond the end of the transfer window with the news that it is to be extended until October 5.
With AC Milan and Leicester City said to be targeting the centre-half, former Premier League striker, Noel Whelan, speaking to Football Insider, believes that the “big” clubs won’t conduct any business until their respective leagues are finished.
So what has Whelan said?
When asked about recent transfer rumours linking Celtic players with moves to the Premier League in particular, he said:
“Teams in England are just concentrating on finishing the season.
“Premier League teams will have targets but it would be disrespectful to the players they have already if they starting making bids for replacements.
“That would do no good for those that are currently playing week in, week out. You have to manage the situation otherwise a player would lose their mind.
“The bids will come when the season is done.”
So is Whelan correct?
It certainly wouldn’t be the most effective way of motivating a squad if a manager was going out and buying replacements for next season before 2019/20 was even finished.
There was always a fear that this scenario would happen whereby the likes of Celtic spend the whole of the summer unsure if their key players have had their heads turned by attractive propositions from across the continent – it wouldn’t be the first time that a player is “injured” whilst waiting for a transfer to go through.
Whelan is correct, Neil Lennon must concentrate on his own squad for now and if anything, focus on getting the players in that he believes will be good enough to secure an unprecedented tenth successive Scottish Premiership title, regardless of whether or not the likes of Ajer commit their future to the Parkhead club.