The Celtic board could have saved a lot of face by signing someone like Kasper Dolberg this summer.
But in the end, the Dolberg transfer saga proved to be an example of how the 2025 summer transfer window was just a mess for Celtic.
With Adam Idah set to join Swansea City, it looked as though, by all intents and purposes, the champions of Scotland were going to pull a rabbit out of the hat by signing Dolberg from Anderlecht.
In the end, the 27-year-old secured a return to Ajax, and the Celtic board came under more flak, but weeks later, Peter Grant tried to cool things down on the matter.
Celtic’s failure to sign Kasper Dolberg before his return to Ajax
Yes, Celtic were still out of the Champions League, but still, signing someone like Dolberg would have cooled down quite a lot of angry and frustrated supporters.
But Grant told Go Radio that the player in question got ‘a tap from Ajax’, and he proceeded to wait on their call, and that’s why he has ‘sympathy’ with Celtic on the matter.
Given Dolberg’s connections with the Dutch giants, you can understand that he would pick them first, but Celtic fans would scream that, had their club acted much earlier, well before Ajax came to the table, then he would have been wearing the famous green and white colours.
“They aren’t talking about going to spend £15-20 million on a player all the time,” said Grant. “I think you are buying players. Buying groups that you should be looking at and seeing where they are.
“Look at Tounekti, what is it, £5.5 million? So, if you get Tounekti at the start of the season. You have got the likes of Nygren, who has done ever so well. Even them two coming into the building, and performing the way that they have. You have got them for about £6.5/7.5 million. The fans would be more than happy to see their performances.
“That’s what you have got to do, but you have to do that when you are on top. That’s why I go back to the Bayern Munich squad. Four players should have been on top of that, anyway, and anybody you lost from there on, and you should replace them.
“We know, financially, Scottish football is a hard pull. We understand that. That’s why, the Dolberg thing, I am a wee bit sympathetic with. I read back on that, and they were talking about, he had got a tap from Ajax, and he was waiting on that. Exactly (it can happen). I think that’s part of it as well.”
Dolberg makes Ajax debut in the Champions League
But whilst Celtic won’t be playing Champions League football this term, it’s a return to Europe’s biggest stage for Dolberg, and his new club, Ajax, after their recent troubles.
On Wednesday night, Dolberg came off the bench as Ajax were beaten 2-0 at home by last season’s beaten finalists Inter.
The Denmark star spent just under half an hour on the pitch, and couldn’t prevent his side from opening their European account with a defeat, but it will be interesting to see how he fares as the season goes on.
- Minutes: 27
- Shots: 2
- Aerials won: 2
- Total tackles: 1
- Clearances: 1
- Touches: 9
- WhoScored rating: 6.33
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
