One of the recent transfer stories to have been pushed over the last week is a potential move for Ferencvaros striker Ryan Mmaee.
The Daily Record reported on Wednesday night that extensive data analysis had been undertaken regarding a potential move for the Moroccan international. However, almost instantly, Ferencvaros sporting director told Nemzeti Sport that the player was staying where he was this summer.
That was seemingly that. Nothing more has been reported on the pursuit of the striker as the Hoops assess their options ahead of their Champions League push next season.
However, one look at Ferencvaros’ transfer history suggests this will hardly be a difficult deal to do if Celtic do indeed decide to make a move.
Ferencvaros’ record fee for a sale came when Mohamed Besic moved to Everton back in 2014. The transfer fee? £4.32m. Celtic spent more on that to sign the likes of Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti.
Only 7 departures in Ferencvaros’ history has gone for over £1m. Going back to last summer, they sold top star Myrto Uzuni for £3.6m [Transfermarkt].
They don’t spend big either. Their record arrival came last summer in the form of Stjepan Loncar from Rijeka. He transferred to Hungary for only £2.25m.
Ferencvaros shouldn’t be difficult to deal with should Celtic move for Mmaee
Firstly, there’s no guarantee that Ange Postecoglou will want to take Mmaee to Parkhead. He may not be the number 1 candidate. But the truth is that we shouldn’t allow Ferencvaros to warn us off. It means absolutely nothing.
Not when they’ve been selling their top stars for nominal fees in the past. With Mmaee only having 2 years left on his Ferencvaros contract, it should be more than affordable.
Sure, they could be looking at Mmaee breaking their transfer record. Given his 19-goal season and the fact he’s now a goalscoring international player for Morocco – his stock has risen over the last year [Transfermarkt].
But we’re also talking about a player who only signed for Ferencvaros for £675k last summer [Transfermarkt]. Regardless of what Hajnal says, this isn’t a deal that’s anywhere close to being beyond Celtic.
Instead, his comments are likely just a sign that Ferencvaros want what they would consider to be a big fee for their player. It’s now a “blow” to Celtic and it certainly doesn’t end the talk surrounding Mmaee. It now simply depends on whether Celtic want to spend a few million on the player.
Time will tell whether that’s the case, but Ferencvaros hardly appear tricky to negotiate with. Celtic will likely find that out if they press ahead here.
In other news, Former Celtic man on lookout for new coaching role after Bundesliga heroics
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