As Celtic’s right-back targets continue to come and go in this window, one aspect of the quartet is a tad worrying.
It started off with Timothy Castagne at the start of the window. He wasn’t getting a game at Atalanta, and had a £6million price-tag thrown on him by the Italians. Celtic, of course, quickly stormed away when that became the case.
Then it was over to Omar Elabdellaoui of Olympiakos. Unlike Castagne, he’s playing every week for the Greek giants. He was reportedly valued at £4million, and Olympiakos didn’t want to lose him this month either. Without even testing the waters, Celtic again moved on.
Over the last week, it’s been Fetrnando Fonseca of Porto. He would apparently cost the club a reported £2million after failing to make an appearance for them this season. Currently operating with the Porto B side, Fonseca is way out of the picture in Portugal.
Celtic could make a move there, but we’ll need to wait and see as no formal approach has been made.
But then, just two days ago, it was Dominic Iorfa from Wolves. Better yet, it was on a pre-contract at the end of the season. Thankfully, Brendan Rodgers has come out and refused he’s interested in Iorfa. That doesn’t, however, mean he wasn’t identified as a target by someone (Congerton) at the club.
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Cheaper and cheaper they go
Quite symbolically of this transfer window, each target has gotten cheaper and cheaper. Almost as if it’s a slap in the face to supporters about what they could’ve got, compared to what they’re going to get.
Of course, this could just be merely a coincidence. It’s difficult to criticise the club when they’ve yet to actually sign one up. But it’s imperative that they do, and they can’t afford to penny-pinch over a real problem position at the club.
It could be the case that Fonseca is now the primary target. Juventus were close to agreeing a deal for him in the summer, so whether he will be as cheap as £2million is a tad doubtful.
But as we go down from cheap target to cheaper target, it may not even stop there. Perhaps we’ll manage to bag someone for £1million, or even for nothing. In Peter Lawwell’s world, that would make for a great transfer window.