KV Mechelen boss addresses latest on Celtic winger Marian Shved

By David Walton

June 28, 2021

KV Mechelen boss Wouter Vrancken has stated that he’s still awaiting an answer from Celtic on the future of winger Marian Shved.

Over seven weeks ago, Vrancken said that he was hoping to hear from Celtic in the coming days. It was hoped then that there would be clarity on Shved’s future [Daily Record].

However, fast forward over 50 days and still the Belgian side has yet to hear from the club. With new boss Ange Postecoglou only just being unveiled to the press on Friday and having just taken his first training session on Thursday, discussions still need to be had.

And as Vrancken was again asked about the situation with Shved, he stated he still hasn’t heard from Celtic.

As quoted by Belgian outlet HLN, the Mechelen manager said: “Ferdy Druijf and Marian Shved? They are eager to come back to play for us, but we have still to wait for an agreement at club level. If they come in, then we are in very good shape for this season.”

Mechelen could have to wait a lot longer before Celtic make their Shved decision

Postecoglou will want to give as many as possible a fresh start to impress him. Given the option-to-buy clause in Jack Hendry’s deal was triggered, it took it out of the manager’s hands in any sense.

Interestingly, it was reported at the start of Shved’s loan deal that he also had an option-to-buy clause inserted into his agreement [Glasgow Live]. Intriguing then that Mechelen have to wait for Celtic to give them the go-ahead.

But the truth is that Shved could be the answer to a long-term Celtic problem. We saw last season how costly it was not to have able back up to James Forrest. Shved has a glorious chance to prove that he is the solution to that problem.

Starring in Belgium: Celtic man Marian Shved / (Photo by Perry van de Leuvert/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Celtic also have Karamoko Dembele available to feature down the right side too. A battle between Shved and Dembele to see who the main rival will be to Forrest would be extremely exciting.

The fact is that there’s an opportunity there for the Ukranian should he decide to stay at Parkhead. Vrancken says Shved wants to remain in Belgium. You wonder whether that would be the right decision for his career given where we’re at iwth our right-side options.

If Postecoglou is going to give Shved pre-season to make his mark, however, Mechelen could have a lot longer to wait before they get a definitive answer here.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou’s ex-assistant at Yokohama has bagged a new role.