“We didn’t like the player who is coming” – Stunning comments that show Celtic may have dodged a £3m bullet
The Riley McGree story was one that dominated the headlines for the best part of a week last week.
The ongoing saga of whether the Parkhead club had actually signed McGree was concluded last Thursday when Middlesbrough confirmed a £5m deal to take the Aussie to Teesside.
Many reports circulated that McGree had agreed a deal to sign for Celtic but these proved to be premature.
But what have Celtic missed out on?
One that doesn’t know what he wants according to his former clubs Sporting Director Zoran Krneta.
Speaking to The Athletic, Krneta gave a fascinating insight into the midfielders attitude and it seems Ange Postecoglou was 100% correct in his assertions to back out of the deal ,“From day one, myself and the rest of the leadership of this club have been saying that we want players who want to be here.
“We want hungry players who want to be here, who want to be a part of this incredible journey that we’re starting.
“Riley McGree has become a better player and then decided that he doesn’t really want to come back to us unless he has to.
“And that wasn’t good enough for us. We didn’t like that. We didn’t like the player who is coming because we are persuading him to come.
“We want the player to really come here and play for this club and be part of this history.
“And the moment it was clear that he had doubts, I started looking into options.”
I have said many times on this blog that it is a players right to try and seek a good deal for themselves as this is a short career they are in, but looking at the comments from Krneta, it does seem that Ange has avoided a potential dressing room issue by shunning McGree.
It will be fascinating to monitor his career in England to see if any patterns develop.
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