One of the major transfer stories of the summer was the proposed transfer move of Yan Couto from Manchester City to Celtic.
Celtic had tried to court the highly rated Brazilian u17 star by inviting him as a VIP guest to a home Europa League qualification tie against Jablonec, and by all accounts, the young right back was impressed by what he saw.
It was a smart move by the Hoops. Inviting the player to a sell out European tie so that he can experience the infamous Parkhead atmosphere.
It was a sure fire winner right?
For the player? Yes. But the deciding factor came down to something outwith Celtic’s control.
Speaking on The Celtic Exchange Podcast, Anthony Joseph revealed the background to why Couto then decided to chose to sign for Braga instead of the Hoops, “One that Celtic were close to was Yan Couto, the right-back from Man City, and he was invited to Celtic Park to watch Jablonec at home.
“He came up to watch the game, he must have enjoyed his day out and the atmosphere but maybe didn’t fancy coming back, but I think that was more for more personal reasons.
“I was told that his partner was looking to be somewhere where she could work and speak Portuguese, obviously a Brazilian family, and there were a lot of Portuguese clubs in for him and Braga were very keen.
“And that was always looking more likely.
” But Celtic, I say came close, in the fact that the player was actually at Celtic Park and accepted an invite to come along.”