Back in the summer, Celtic were on the hunt for a reliable right-back after the departures of Jeremie Frimpong, Hatem Elhamed, and Jonjoe Kenny respectively.
Sacha Boey was one of the big names in the frame an impressive loan stint with Dijon in Ligue 1. The Rennes star was deemed surplus to requirements, and looked like potentially heading for Celtic Park.
In the end, it was Galatasaray who came in and nabbed him. Boey would then state that he had the chance to join Celtic but instead chose the “bigger club” [Aslan Arenasi].
At the time, the Turkish side were one of the favourites for their domestic title whilst they were involved in Europa League qualifiers too.
Fast forward 7 months and the picture has totally changed for the former Celtic target. He found himself out of action for the vast majority of it due to a hamstring tear. Boey only returned to action back in late January after being missing from September onwards.
And the truth is that Galatasaray have been a shambles all season. As things stand, they currently sit 15th and just 3 spots off the relegation places. Whilst they’ll likely have enough to avoid the drop, their form throughout the year has been a total embarrassment.
Galatasaray all over the place as Sacha Boey must regret Celtic snub
As you would expect, the man who signed Boey, Fatih Terim, was sacked back in January. However, even the appointment of Domenec Torrent hasn’t been enough to halt the slide.
A week before the international break, Boey was on the pitch as Galatasaray beat Besiktas 2-1. It was the first win he’d experienced since August. Showing you exactly the kind of season he’s had.
Meanwhile, Celtic are in pole position to take the Premiership crown and enter the Champions League next season. Josip Juranovic took up the offer that Boey declined, and now he’s reaping the rewards with international recognition, medals, and hopefully UCL qualification.
If Galatasaray are a bigger club than Celtic, they certainly haven’t shown it this season. Boey must be in the same boat as Thomas Henry in that they must be regretting snubbing Celtic for what they feel are higher-profile leagues.
Boey won’t be involved in European football next season whilst there will be no cup success for him either. Gala were dumped out of the Turkish Cup by second-tier side Denizlispor on their own turf. It’s been an absolutely humiliating season for them this year in what will be one of the worst in their history.
Goes to show once again that the grass isn’t always greener in a better-quality league. Players like Boey really could do with waking up to the prospects Celtic can offer.
In other news, Celtic look primed for a near-perfect fortnight after only 1 international injury blow
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