Celtic’s loan recruitment over the course of the campaign was a shambles of the highest order.
A frustrating number of arrivals completely failed to produce the goods, some were barely even utilised, while others saw their short-term deals cut unceremoniously short.
That was the case with defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, who joined Celtic last summer on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City when Brendan Rodgers was in charge.
But Simpson-Pusey returned to Manchester City in January after making only one start in Glasgow, secured a six-month loan deal to FC Köln in the Bundesliga, and now he is set to join them permanently.
Should Celtic regret not giving Jahmai Simpson-Pusey a chance?
Ex-Celtic loanee Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s move to FC Köln dubbed a ‘smart deal’
Nobody batted an eye when Simpson-Pusey cut his Celtic stay short in the winter.
The centre-back spent his opening months completely frozen out of the matchday squad before being relegated to a permanent fixture on the bench.
It felt entirely obvious that he wasn’t Brendan Rodgers’ preferred signing, especially given how similarly Callum Osmand was treated during that period.
But Simpson-Pusey found his home in Cologne, playing 11 times in the Bundesliga compared to his 64 minutes against Kilmarnock in November.
Nonetheless, Germany transfer expert Florian Plettenberg has stated on social media that Simpson-Pusey has secured a ‘smart deal’ to Köln.
Plettenberg has claimed that initially, the versatile defender was going to move for around £7 million, but that price has come down.
‘🚨💥 EXCL | Jahmai Simpson-Pusey to 1. FC Köln – DONE DEAL ✔️ Total agreement,’ wrote Plettenberg.
‘Successful renegotiations with Manchester City. No medical needed. #MCFC The transfer fee will be around €5m. A permanent deal with a contract until 2030. The original option to buy was set at €8m. Smart deal. #Effzeh @SkySportDE 🏴’
How Simpson-Pusey rated at Köln
When Simpson-Pusey moved to Cologne, his new side were sitting in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table, and they would end the campaign 14th.
It was a poor campaign from the German club, including Lukas Kwasniok getting sacked in March as they feared relegation.
Either way, it was eventful for the former Celtic man, including getting sent off against Borussia Dortmund at the start of March and producing a strong display against Bayern Munich.
Nonetheless, Sofascore rated Simpson-Pusey’s Bundesliga displays at 6.57.
- Games: 11
- Starts: 10
- Minutes per game: 79
- Total minutes played: 866
- Clean sheets: 0
- Sofascore: 6.57
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
