English League Two winger Joel Randall sounds as though he’s ready to make a move to Celtic when the opportunity arises.
Devon Live linked the Hoops with a potential move for the Englishman in January. However, in the end, Celtic didn’t appear to make an offer as he remained with the fourth-tier side.
Randall can operate on either the left or right side of midfield. Which makes Celtic’s lack of action even more frustrating considering we failed to recruit some competition for James Forrest yet again. The club has been operating without a natural right-winger for some time.
However, speaking to the BBC, Randall sounded ready and willing to make the jump to Parkhead when and if the opportunity comes up.
“I didn’t take much notice of it (January interest), the agent kept me in touch with a few things and I was aware there was some interest. But at the end of the day I was fully committed to Exeter. I said to them I want to be successful this season and I was just keeping my head down, working hard to play every Saturday and Tuesday for them, so it didn’t really bother me too much.
“Of course, seeing the Celtic shout was dream stuff really, to see that interest. But I’ve got a job to do with Exeter so I can’t let it distract me.
“We know the names of Watkins, Ampadu, Grimes, they’ve all shown what the academy can produce so they’ll put us in that sort of bracket as well. In the future hopefully we can match their careers. They know it’s a good academy and we keep producing, so hopefully that can continue.”
League Two to Celtic is a big leap, but Randall looks ready for a step-up
We all know how big a jump it is for lower-league players down south to step up to a team the size of Celtic. Not just on the pitch either. It’s an incredible leap in pressure mentally, with the demands coming from a different world than what they’re used to.
Randall, however, seems ready for a step-up. His stats this season prove it. He has eight goals and five assists in only 28 games this term. That’s superb going for a winger [Transfermarkt].
In addition to that, he fits the profile of players Celtic look for. At 21, there’s plenty of development there for the Hoops to try and kick on and sell on for a hefty fee somewhere down the line. Granted, it would all depend on whether he could make that step-up so soon.
With so many question marks over the club, it’s unclear whether Randall would still be on our radar come the summer. We all expect sweeping changes to occur at Parkhead. Any player on the Parkhead shortlist for summer enquiries could easily find themselves off of it when a new manager comes in.
So it’s difficult to take any transfer reports too seriously at the moment. Not when it feels as though there are a million and one questions needing answering before we even get to our summer business.
However, regardless of who comes in the door as manager for next season, a right-winger remains essential.
In other news, Neil Lennon has touched on the half-time team-talk that led to Celtic’s dazzling four-goal showing last night.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
