Transfer rumours are always coming and going, but sometimes there’s just desperation in linking a player with a certain club.
Whether that comes from wanting to make a story out of nothing, or whether you want to make the story bigger than it is – it happens all the time in the media.
But in the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen some odd rumours flying around.
First off, it was Jermaine Defoe. Celtic were apparently also interested in the deal, with some outlets claiming Rangers “beat” the Hoops to Defoe.
Despite the fact we already have three strikers sewn up for this window, we were still apparently desperately in for 36-year-old Defoe. Forget the fact we didn’t actually make a move. That’s apparently to do with Rangers just being too quick for us and stealing him from under our noses.
Glen Kamara from Dundee was the second. Despite him clearly not being good enough for Celtic, Rangers won the “race” to sign him. The race which Rangers were the only horse involved.
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Next is an apparent deal for Nick Powell.
Whether Celtic are interested in the midfielder or not remains to be seen. Rangers, however, were also said to be “rivaling” Celtic in any proposed deal.
Now these two deals are different in the sense that Celtic didn’t make a move for one, but still could for the other. What they both have in common, however, is this idea that Rangers have the might to tussle with Celtic on transfer targets.
If Celtic want a player over Rangers, they’ll get him
There seems to be a hesitancy from the media to actually come out and say the truth. If Celtic want a player that Rangers want, he’ll go to Celtic if he has ambition. It’s as simple as that.
The Hoops have superior financial might that they hover over their rivals. Any head-to-head or tug-of-war for a potential player will always be won by the Parkhead side, if they want it enough.
It’s as if we’ve to all forget that because it takes away from the narrative that Rangers are back. After they beat Celtic by what you would think was 34 goals last month, it’s gotten certain people in and outside the media far too excited.
All of a sudden they’re signing key Celtic targets and scuppering the transfer plans of their rivals. Despite the fact Celtic have a warchest of cash from European campaigns and transfer fees, Rangers can still apparently take players wanted at Parkhead.
That’s not to say it can never happen. Certain players may feel that they won’t get a game at Celtic. Others could perhaps have grown up supporting Celtic’s rivals. But a signing with any real ambition would still choose Paradise every time.
It’s important not to get mislead into thinking anything otherwise. In terms of head-to-heads over targets, there’s still only ever one winner.