Whether you’re a Celtic fan, or you support Aberdeen, or even St Mirren, it’s the same thing.
Too many of our players from the Scottish Premiership get sold on for far too little. Our domestic game is chronically undervalued, despite producing some talents that have shone at a “higher” level.
The examples are obvious: Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, John McGinn – all sold for less than they ended up being worth. McGinn was purchased by Aston Villa for around £2m. He’s now valued at £27m by Transfermarkt. Fine, it’s not an exact science, but you get the idea.
The point, and how this relates to Celtic, is that we’re on the precipice of losing two of our best players. Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer have been linked with moves to all and sundry since last summer. Now, with Kristoffer Ajer admitting he wants away, and Edouard more than likely to move on too, a tough summer of negotiations await Celtic.
And the club, frankly, can’t afford to fall into the old traps. In every sense. With the losses from Covid-19 and a massive turnover of the playing staff sorely needed, this is no time to be coy. Both of these players have enormous potential, and they were both very smart signings by the club in the first place. Last year of their contract or not, it’s important Celtic get every penny they can here.
Celtic can’t be coy; set the agenda while interest is high
The best scenario here is a bidding war, for either Edouard or Ajer. With even Inter Milan reportedly keen on Edouard, we can be marginally more confident of raking in at least £20m from the Frenchman. Ajer, though, is a trickier one.
He’s definitely not the finished article. In an April article, I valued him at around £20m, largely on potential, international appearances and his positional versatility. There’s a world in which Ajer becomes a world-class holding midfielder.
Maybe £20m is ambitious, but given his importance to Celtic this season, we can’t afford to under-value our players. It’s a mistake we’ve made time and again, and it’s not just us doing it.
Scottish teams need to stop being dazzled by interest from big names, and get a fair deal for their players. It’s as true of Celtic as it is any other.
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