£2m Ismaila Soro has now missed last 14 Celtic squads after failed January move

By David Walton

April 20, 2022

One of the forgotten Celtic players of 2022 has undoubtedly been midfielder Ismaila Soro.

People forget just how prominent he was in the early days of Ange’s reign. The Ivorian featured in 15 of the manager’s first 16 games in charge – 10 of which coming from the bench [Transfermarkt].

However, it became clear that Ismaila lacked the tactical discipline or the all-round attributes to feature in an Ange team. All of a sudden he was shunned for the likes of David Turnbull and Nir Bitton when it came to minutes.

Back in January, it looked as though Soro was finally set for his Parkhead departure. However, a move to Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands fell through at the last minute due to work permit issues. Ange stated after the window closed that he was “training well” and available for selection [Football Scotland].

But it appears that the manager has had absolutely no plans to get him on the pitch this year. For Soro has now missed the last 14 Celtic matchday squads. The last appearance he made for the club came back in February in a 2-minute cameo against Rangers.

Even when the manager looked to freshen things up in the Scottish Cup against Alloa and Raith Rovers respectively, Soro still wasn’t given a spot in the respective squads.

Ismaila Soro looks like being a priority departure from Celtic Park this summer

Celtic will have plenty to do this summer when it comes to squad building for next season. Getting rid of the deadwood at Parkhead will certainly come into it too.

At this point, Soro has to be one of the top priorities in that regard. He, along with the likes of Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas, and Boli Bolingoli, will be high on the club’s list for a summer exit.

The loan move to Fortuna Sittard in January would’ve at least allowed him to showcase his talents elsewhere and potentially move permanently this summer. The fact he was even robbed of that shows the lack of fortune he’s had this season.

Celtic will also surely be happy to take a hit on his value too. We forked out £2m to sign him from Bnei Yehuda at the beginning of 2020 [Scottish Sun]. Even if his contract still has 2 more years left to run, it doesn’t matter, we have to accept we’re making a loss on this one.

It’s clear that Ange doesn’t think Soro is of any use to him whatsoever. The fact that James McCarthy and Yosuke Ideguchi are ahead of him now in the pecking order despite barely receiving minutes is another key message for him.

This only ends one way, and it has to be via a permanent summer exit from the club. Surely, there’ll be clubs willing to give him that opportunity if the price is right.

In other news, Celtic great Chris Sutton blasts Scottish football’s decision to bring VAR in