Reported Celtic target Benjamin Siegrist signs with former Hoops scout's agency

By Euan Davidson

December 7, 2021

Speculation about a Benjamin Siegrist move to Celtic from Dundee United has heat up today.

According to Football Scotland, Siegrist has signed with David Moss’ First Access Sport. Moss, famously, was at the club when Celtic brought in the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama.

Talk of Siegrist interesting the Hoops has been going for months. In January, Swiss outlet Blick linked the shot stopper to Parkhead. Later on, during the summer transfer window, Siegrist said he’d “take a look” at interest from Celtic if it was indeed legitimate.

Of course, Celtic signed Joe Hart, a colossal presence between the sticks. However, the back-ups aren’t entirely inspiring. Tobi Oluwayemi looks to have a bright future, but Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas are by no means fan favourites.

So, it could be that Siegrist has turned to Moss, with his expansive network of contacts in football, to secure either a better deal at Dundee United, or a move elsewhere. Given the Celtic connection, it’s not impossible to think there could be something in the works here.

Siegrist has amassed 8 clean sheets in 19 games for Dundee United this season. There wasn’t a whole lot he could’ve done about any of Celtic’s goals at Tannadice on Sunday, though.

Benjamin Siegrist and his connections to former Celtic scout are interesting, but there’s a problem

All of this said, would Benjamin Siegrist fancy going from number 1 to second-fiddle?

Obviously, Celtic could offer him a pay-rise, should reported interest turn into a formal bid. That’s all fine and well, however it doesn’t seem the likeliest outcome.

Joe Hart, obviously, could use competition. With Vasilis Barkas surely on his way out, and Scott Bain hardly inspiring a great deal of confidence from supporters, Hart is the undisputed number 1. Surely though, that would remain the case were Siegrist to join.

Hart doesn’t seem like the type who’d react too well to chopping and changing, either. See the latter era of his time at Manchester City for ample evidence of that.

It’s true that having a better second-choice keeper would be, on paper, not a bad thing. That’s just on paper, though. Were Siegrist to join, it’d be a signal of Celtic’s intentions, sure, but perhaps not the best squad-building idea.

It’d be popular with fans, who’ve been keen on Siegrist for some time. But in the longer-term? It’s harder to say.

Read more: “We’ve got your back” – Celtic fans respond brilliantly to Kyogo’s Tuesday tweet