Maik Nawrocki transfer exposes Michael Nicholson’s biggest Celtic failure

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Maik Nawrocki’s painful two-year Celtic spell is officially over after the Polish defender completed a permanent move to RC Lens.

Nawrocki’s Celtic future looked bleak after Martin O’Neill placed him behind four defenders in the pecking order at Parkhead. His manager had effectively told him that there was no route back into the team.

Now, after two frustrating years at Celtic, Nawrocki has sealed his permanent exit. Michael Nicholson has successfully moved another fringe player off the wage bill.

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Maik Nawrocki completes permanent Celtic exit to RC Lens

Nawrocki has signed a four-year contract with Ligue 1 runners-up RC Lens after completing his medical in France. The 25-year-old can now begin rebuilding a career that badly stalled at Celtic.

The deal ends a Celtic spell that produced just 18 first-team appearances following his £4.5m move from Legia Warsaw. Injuries hurt Nawrocki early on, but he never came close to becoming the commanding centre-back supporters hoped they had signed.

The writing was already on the wall after O’Neill publicly placed Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales and Dane Murray ahead of him. Nawrocki’s departure was inevitable once those brutal comments were made.

Yet his swift exit raises another uncomfortable question about Nicholson. Why can Celtic move so quickly when a player is leaving, but crawl through the summer when O’Neill desperately needs reinforcements?

Michael Nicholson sells Celtic players quicker than he signs them

Celtic negotiated with Lens, settled the terms of Nawrocki’s departure and completed the permanent transfer with little fuss. Once O’Neill decided the defender was surplus to requirements, the club suddenly found the urgency needed to get business done.

But when the Celtic manager made it clear that he wanted Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi, Nicholson spent weeks trying to complete both deals and still failed. The speed shown when Lens arrived for Nawrocki was nowhere to be seen when O’Neill needed players brought through the door.

Moving Nawrocki on was absolutely the correct decision because his Celtic career was going nowhere. But why on earth can the club not bust a gut with the same intensity to secure players the manager clearly wants and badly needs?

Nawrocki’s departure suits everyone involved, but it again shows that Nicholson finds transfer solutions far more quickly when Celtic are collecting a fee. Supporters are still waiting for him to show the same urgency when the club need to spend one.