Mohamed Elyounoussi’s Celtic exit is upon us, and it appears fans are already wanting the club to get a deal done for him next season.
The Norwegian has had a generally inconsistent season in Glasgow. However, he’s still been one of our most dangerous threats, and leaves with 17 goals and eight assists to his name [Transfermarkt]. Not bad going considering the team he’s been involved in and isn’t an out-and-out striker.
Elyounoussi’s exit leaves Celtic with a big problem down the left flank. Outside of Mikey Johnston, we have no natural left-wingers remaining. And given Mikey has struggled with injury concerns over the last 15 months or so, he can’t be relied upon.
Therefore, an Elyounoussi return would certainly be welcome. Whether that be another loan agreement or indeed a permanent transfer. It would solve one of the positions we desperately need to strengthen this summer.
Of course, it would come at a price. Remember, Southampton splashed out £16million to sign Moi from Basel in 2018 [The Scotsman]. Granted, they’ll know they can’t demand a similar price for Moi’s services. But with reports of a £5m valuations going around [Football Insider], it would certainly be a chunk of the outlay.
Mohamed Elyounoussi’s Celtic exit causes us a big problem
Unfortunately, Elyounoussi’s contract down south doesn’t end until 2023 [Transfermarkt]. What that effectively means is that Saints can still ask for a sizable fee for him. Celtic need to judge whether he’d be worth it.
Whilst Moi has shown some major, promising signs this season, he’s still been inconsistent. Against Hibs yesterday pretty much summed up his season. He showed some great combination and link-up play with Odsonne Edouard. However, he would miss three great opportunities against Ofir Marciano. He would then fade in the second 45.
If we’re going to invest heavily in a left-winger this summer, he needs to be trusted to provide on a near weekly-basis. Elyounoussi hasn’t quite managed to do that this season despite the impressive look his stats have.
Of course, that can easily be countered with the idea that nobody has been good enough this season. Everyone has dropped below the standards you would expect of them, and Moi is simply another victim of that. That’s a defence that stands up, but let’s not pretend there aren’t question marks either.
Regardless, the Celtic fans have clearly made their minds up. They want Elyounoussi in, and that’s an opinion they’re resolutely sticking to as his future remains up in the air. Here’s a look at what some of the supporters are saying:
https://twitter.com/josephtonner67/status/1393712224594583552
https://twitter.com/PaulMcG1994/status/1393673585458401281
https://twitter.com/Plac1dCasual/status/1393536761318543363
In other news, Patryk Klimala certainly seemed to impress in his MLS debut.
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