Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli is still in Belgium training on his own despite his loan deal at Russian club FC Ufa being axed.
Bolingoli agreed on a loan switch to Ufa in February and joined up with the club for a training camp in Turkey.
However, as reported by The Herald, he could not secure a work visa to complete the move due to diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia being severely restricted in the wake of their invasion of Ukraine.
Footage surfaced this week of the player training with a fitness company in Belgium, reported by The Scottish Sun, having effectively found himself in a footballing limbo.
Bolingoli was actually an active part of Ange Postecoglou’s squad earlier in the season, given a chance to impress as much as any other player.
He even made two starts for the club in matches against Livingston and Motherwell. However, it appears he is not in the manager’s plans right now.
It now seems almost certain he will leave the club in the summer, although unfortunately for all concerned he still has more than a year left on his contract at the Bhoys. He signed a deal to 2023 when brought to the club by Neil Lennon in 2019.
Given he has effectively been made available for transfer for more than a year, it’s unlikely a team is going to come in and pay a transfer fee for him. Another loan would be the best-case scenario.
We’ve always seen in the past Celtic taking steps to terminate contracts by mutual agreement, though that would surely be the last case scenario.
His move to the Bhoys is destined to go down as a frustrating transfer misstep – the kind of mistake that is hopefully a remnant of the past.
In other news, Steven Gerrard admits regret to Gary Neville over Celtic Park moment that badly backfired on rivals.
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