Transfers

David Friel shares the ‘open secret’ he’s heard from Belgium about Kasper Dolberg, Celtic and Ajax

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The Kasper Dolberg transfer to Celtic story is not going away.

A full week has passed since Dolberg rejected Celtic on transfer deadline day and the reverberations of that are still being felt.

As a consequence of that failed move, Celtic signed Kelechi Iheanacho after Sevilla terminated the Nigerian international’s contract on the final day of the transfer summer transfer window.

And now that Dolberg is at Ajax, journalist David Friel has shared the ‘open secret’ he’s heard which is, again, another damning indictment on how the Celtic board handled this particular transfer saga.

Anderlecht's Kasper Dolberg pictured during the UEFA Conference League Play-offs football match against AEK Athens FC
Photo by MENELAOS MYRILLAS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images

Celtic’s handling of Kasper Dolberg transfer ’embarrassing’

Kasper Dolberg, at one point, looked like he was on his way to Celtic as the transfer deadline day clock ticked down.

However, as soon as Ajax came into the mix, there was only ever going to be one winner and Friel shares what he heard from ‘people in Belgium’ about the failed Celtic transfer.

Friel told Go Ballistic, “Kasper Dolberg is a prime example. Speaking to people in Belgium, it was an open secret that Ajax were going to come in for him. And I know everybody’s saying, “Oh, this domino effect, etc., etc.”

“I don’t for a minute think that Sunderland just suddenly after Marc Guehi gets recalled by Chelsea, Sunderland suddenly think we’ll just go and spend £25m on Bryan Brobby from Ajax.

“A deal like that is weeks, months in the making. For Celtic to put all their eggs in one basket with Kasper Dolberg and not get it over the line was embarrassing in the end.

“And listen, the player can only come if he wants to, right? I get that and players [deals] fall down. But you don’t have a plan B, you don’t have a plan C, and you end up scrambling about trying to get free agents the day after.

“But then you put out statement saying “Oh, it’s not really our fault”; it’s just excuses. You can understand why fans are thinking, “What is happening with the recruitment? What is going on with the process?”

The pain just keeps coming for the Celtic board

The Celtic board have come under some serious scrutiny for how they handled the transfer window.

Dithering over deals and lowball offers made Celtic look amateurish and unprofessional as clubs across Europe openly mocked them.

If Ajax’s courting of Dolberg really was an ‘open secret’ then why did the Celtic hierarchy dither over closing the deal?

The more people continue to talk about this transfer window, the more Celtic fans will get even more angry. It’s little wonder the fan movement against the board did not take much to get it going.