Deadline day for Celtic was a bit hit and miss.
Jeffrey Schlupp was the only arrival at the club with fans hitting out at the “shocking” business done by the club as they failed to land a striker to properly replace Kyogo.
Brendan Rodgers would have urged his scouting staff early on to identify the main targets but whether it was down to recruitment, the money-men, whoever, the deadline passed without the number one priority position in the door.
Some fans retained a sense of realism with Adam Idah back among the goals and Daizen Maeda an option to play through the middle as he has proven since.
Johnny Kenny is another who is available and has scored goals with Shamrock Rovers on loan in the League of Ireland as well as in the Conference League, so he’s not useless.
But it was another young player who hit the headlines in the form of Daniel Cummings who was wanted by West Ham United for close to £500,000 on February 3.
Daniel Cummings starts for Celtic B in UEFA Youth League
Cummings has been prolific for the Celtic B team both domestically and in Europe and he even made his debut for the first-team against Aston Villa earlier this season.
It was a random moment for the 18-year-old for manager Rodgers to throw him in against the Premier League club and some pundits surmised that was a bit of a message from the gaffer to the boardroom at the time.
Still, it added value to Cummings who now has a Champions League appearance under his belt.
The problem has been that the young man has not been involved in the matchday squad since at Parkhead and that begs the question: Why did the club not sanction his sale on deadline day for what would have been more money than the cross-border compensation fee they will get in the summer?
It is believed Celts will be handed around £300k in five months time when he eventually makes a move away from Glasgow.
An extra few pennies might have looked better down the line as well as a potential sell-on, too.
Cummings could have left Celtic on deadline day for £500k
If the manager did not have the intention of playing him again – or even involving him in his squad – how does that help develop the player?
Cummings has this afternoon been named in Celtic’s B team starting XI to face RB Salzburg in the UEFA Youth League with the first-team in action tonight vs Bayern Munich.
And he will likely put himself in the shop window once again by doing what he has consistently done for the youngers and that is score goals.
| Daniel Cummings Celtic B stats, 2024/5 so far |
| Matches played: 26 |
| Goals scored: 24 |
| Assists: 0 |
Giving him an opportunity with the first-team would only benefit the teen, but there must be a reason Rodgers has yet to do so.
The Irishman warned against “impatience” for Cummings in a recent press conference which might have a part to play.
We just hope he can do the business for the B team to see them through this knockout round.
Then we’ll see what happens.
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