Celtic’s recent link with Manchester United’s Donny Van De Beek yesterday was a bit of a surprising one. As 67 Hail Hail discussed on the site yesterday, any potential move is likely to be a loan move but should the club pull this one off, it would be an incredible piece of transfer business.
Van de Beek is a Dutch international midfielder who moved to United in a £34m move in September 2020 after impressive displays for Ajax in Europe [Sky Sports]. But after almost two years at the club, it looks like he could be on his way out after failing to break into the first team.
But is this a move that Celtic could manage to make? It’s a possibility according to former Celtic manager, Neil Lennon.
Lennon believes that if van de Beek is looking to resurrect his career, then a move to Parkhead could do just that but there is a massive hurdle that could make the deal a little bit difficult to navigate.
When asked if this is a deal Celtic could make happen, Lennon said [The Go Radio Football Show], “Possibly. His career stalled a bit. He was outstanding at Ajax the season they got to the semi-finals of the Champions League in that really good young Ajax team.
“He went to United and it didn’t work out. He went on loan to Everton and that didn’t work either. So he needs a kickstart.
“Maybe Celtic’s that place for him. He’s certainly shown he’s got the pedigree and you never lose that, you just sometimes lose your confidence or your hunger or you lose your way a little bit.
“And you know, a player of that calibre needs a restart and maybe he’s thinking Celtic might be the place to go.
“But there’s a lot of work to be done in a deal involving that. He’ll be on huge money, let’s not beat about the bush here.
“So realistically, again, if you’re talking about your [Scott] McTominay and your [Kieran] Tierney’s and you’re [Donny] Van De Beek’s, realistically it would probably be a loan and Celtic making a contribution to the wages.”
I’ll not even pretend to know what wages van de Beek is on but at Manchester United, you would have to assume we are talking in the realms of £100k+ per week.
Clearly, that is something that Celtic cannot afford and even at half that price, the club would be stretched to afford that kind of money.
And would the club be of a mind to make a loan player one of the highest paid at the club ahead of other important first-team stars? You would have to assume no.
However this plays out moving forward, there is no doubt that van de Beek would be an excellent addition to the Celtic team. I just think this one may well just be a move too far for Celtic.
In other news, Report: Celtic talent Matt O’Riley subject of transfer interest; 4 clubs, potential offer ahead
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