Pundit thinks he knows why Brendan Rodgers turned down late bid for forgotten Celtic man

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Celtic will be left to deal with the consequences of their decisions during what was a quiet January transfer window.

With the market now closed, there is sentiment among some supporters that Brendan Rodgers wasn’t given the best chance to strengthen his squad.

Last weekend, Celtic dropped points at Aberdeen in another performance where they struggled to control the narrative.

Despite being the dominant side in the first half, Rodgers’ men enabled the Dons to gain command of the midfield battle across the second portion of proceedings.

Ultimately, a point had to suffice following Nicolas Kuhn’s deflected strike. Nevertheless, the Bhoys’ options off the bench, bar the former Germany Under-20 international and Adam Idah, struggled to impact matters at Pittodrie.

On the flip side, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda being unavailable for various reasons didn’t help the Scottish Premiership holders’ cause.

Regardless, it has become apparent that Celtic have too many spare parts in their squad that should’ve been moved on in January.

Gordon Dalziel on loan offer for Celtic outcast James McCarthy

To the surprise of many, Celtic rejected a late loan bid from Greek side Volos FC last month for outcast James McCarthy [Sky Sports].

The former Republic of Ireland man has made just 27 appearances for his boyhood club since moving to Glasgow in 2021 after departing Crystal Palace, notching a solitary assist, per Transfermarkt.

Later reports emerged indicating that the Hoops wanted a larger portion of his salary covered than Volos were prepared to offer.

Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, pundit Gordon Dalziel believes that it was the right option to knock back advances for the midfielder.

Dalziel stated: “You look at James McCarthy just quickly. I think that they rejected it because the club looked at the situation that was going to take him on loan and tried to use it to their advantage.

“If you’re going to take a player on loan, you’ve got to contribute something to it and I think that Celtic felt that the club wasn’t prepared to do that.

“So what is the point in putting a player out there and recouping nothing for him and not getting any wages or nothing towards his wages and that’s why Celtic have probably dug their heels in.”

Parkhead chiefs have a responsibility to maximise the financial output of the club, and it is understandable that they wouldn’t be keen to let a player leave in a deal that wasn’t financially viable.

Conversely, McCarthy is clearly surplus to requirements. The opportunity to gain regular minutes elsewhere may have eventually helped to shift him permanently.