Celtic-linked Bahlul Mustafazada receives an offer elsewhere

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic-linked Bahlul Mustafazada could reportedly have an offer to leave Gabala on the table.

According to Azerbaijan outlet Sportal, a mystery club have made an offer for Mustafazada. The bid is in the region of around 100,000 manats. In British currency, that’s around £47k. Hardly a big amount for a promising young talent.

Mustafazada has, in the past, spoken regularly about wanting to make a move to Celtic. Just earlier this month he made an odd statement claiming that he didn’t care whether he joined the Hoops or rivals Rangers (Daily Record). Instead, he insisted he just wanted his big move.

The Daily Record reported back in April that Celtic had offered the Gabala defender a trial. But nothing further seemed to come of that, and Mustafazada never arrived in Glasgow.

The defender has made 29 appearances for Gabala this season, and is one of the most promising young talents in Azerbaijan.

Mystery club unlikely to be Celtic

It feels unlikely that the mystery club involved would be ourselves. It doesn’t make any sense that we would only try to get him for £47k. Supporters also wouldn’t be too pleased if Mustafazada was the main defensive replacement for Dedryck Boyata.

He’s still highly inexperienced and has never tasted the pressure of playing at a club like Celtic. He may be 22 years of age, but he’s also yet to be capped by Azerbaijan and yet to have featured in European football.

If Celtic do eventually go for the young centre-back, it would be a surprise. Our current situation demands some proven experience in a high-quality league. Celtic clearly have the funds to go out and make that happen. Bringing in someone of Mustafazada’s relative inexperience wouldn’t bode well for immediate Champions League qualifiers.

So bringing him to Parkhead doesn’t seem too likely. You have to expect the club to be more ambitious, even if the player himself is looking for a move to Scotland too.

Taking unnecessarily cheap risks isn’t what the club needs right now. We must speculate to accumulate, and that means spending under £50k on a centre0back replacement is a no-no.