ALEX’S ANGLE: STORM ALERT

ONLY those afflicted with the IQ of a moth would be unaware of the sinister rumblings emanating from the east end of Glasgow.

I hope someone at Celtic has the know-how to produce a few rabbits from the hat before the murmurings of discontent become a full-blown bellow of rage and anger.

At the dramatic conclusion of a truly extraordinary double-winning crusade, Martin O’Neill was savvy enough not to dwell too long on the quite remarkable success and, looking to the future, delivered the warning that events of an error-strewn term should act “as a wake-up call”.

We anticipated the Parkhead powerbrokers to react to the sobering summarisation from a wise old sage who has performed in more than one rodeo during his monumental managerial career at club and country level.

THE THINKER…Martin O’Neill ponders about the season ahead.

The urgently-required squad upheaval has not materialised with Colombian striker Camilo Duran the solitary purchase at £5.5million from Qarabag since the transfer window opened on June 15.

That fact alone goes beyond perplexing, especially with the Premiership due to kick off a fortnight today with Dundee the visitors.

There will also be the first leg of the Champions League qualifier on August 18 to face and overcome. We don’t need to mention last season’s inexplicable failure, do we?

Strong men still break down in paroxysms of tears at the mere mention of Kairat Almaty.

I shudder at the ferocity of any backlash if the club once again step onto that particular banana skin.

But the alarming possibility is evident. You know it, I know it, people who inhabit Tibetan mountain peaks know it.

And, yet, someone, somewhere seems to have hit a pause button at the home of the champions.

There appears to be a mystifying lack of urgency about the place – and that is deeply concerning for anyone of a Celtic persuasion.

The window closes at 5pm on September 3 and we can anticipate all sorts of names emerging as possible signings amid the avalanche of conjecture and rumour.

THE ONE AND ONLY…Camilo Duran, Celtic’s solitary summer buy so far.

I note that Bodo/Glimt’s Danish striker Kasper Hogh has resurfaced as a possibility after originally being linked in January when we were informed he would cost circa £7million to shift.

Whether the tale was factual or the work of an agent’s fertile imagination wasn’t put to the test after the club from the Arctic Circle continued to make stunning progress in Europe’s elite competition.

Kyogo Furuhashi? Stranger things have happened, my friends. He knows the lay of the land, scorer of 85 goals in 165 appearances first time-around, and he may believe he has some unfinished business at the club.

I wouldn’t put the family cat on that move getting the green light, but needs must and all that.

You have to wonder why Celtic did not activate the option clause in Kelechi Iheanacho’s contract to keep him at the club for another couple of years.

That was the time to get business done before his advisors are allowed to hawk their client as a free agent to other clubs, undoubtedly armed with film of the player enjoying success at the Scottish champions with his nine crucial goals.

Without argument, they would have made impressive viewing.

By the time the club realised what the Nigerian international could offer the team, he was on his way to Bursaspor, who operated in the Turkish second-tier last season.

NOW YOU SEE ME…Kelechi Iheanacho became a favourite of the Celtic fans.

The sneaky agent – Sneaky agent? Surely not! – had come off the Hoops’ radar while negotiations had been going on elsewhere and by the time he returned for a pow-wow in Glasgow, the player’s representative could inform Celtic they would have to match the offer of £47,000-per-week reportedly agreed with the Turks if they wanted to welcome back Kelechi to the fold.

Plus they would need to tag on an extra 12 months to make it a three-year deal.

Nice work if you can get it.

Celtic, as you would expect, baulked at paying such a hefty wage over an extended period for a player who turns 30 in October.

The time to get the job done and dusted was while he was still under contract. Yes, there were issues with his fitness levels, but I believe that is manageable in a game where the manager has the luxury of five substitutes.

I don’t subscribe to the idea that a player’s value is in the amount of minutes he spends on the pitch. I’m a believer of their worth being established with what they actually contribute in whatever minutes they are on the field of play.

I would have made an offer to Iheanacho before he was allowed to talk to anyone else.

The same goes for Marcelo Saracchi. I liked the cut of the Uruguayan’s jib and saw him as a dependable back-up for Kieran Tierney. For me, he proved that over his 27 appearances during his season-long loan from Boca Juniors.

The asking fee for the experienced operator was flagged up at around the £1.5m/£2million mark. That being the case, there seemed no reason to stall on a proposed deal.

Saracchi stated last week: “My agent and I did absolutely everything within our power to make a return to Glasgow happen.”

Celtic fans who like to take aim at Dermot Desmond and the board didn’t have to look too far for ammunition to have another go.

PITIFUL SIGHT…a deserted Celtic Park.

On the face of it, the club have missed out on another performer who would have done a solid job and, at the moment, Liam Scales has been mainly filling in for Tierney who was allowed extended leave after his World Cup exertions with Scotland.

What we do not know is what sort of contract Saracchi would have been looking for to hasten his return to Scotland. Possibly, like Iheanacho, his wage demands may have been exorbitant and prohibitive.

We’ll probably never be told and irate supporters will continue to react accordingly.

Celtic Park, with thousands of rows of empty seats and some stands closed for Saturday’s visit of Middlesbrough, presented a fairly pitiful sight.

It looked as though there were more fans on the pitch in the previous game at the venue back on May 16 when referee Don Robertson signalled the end of the team’s 3-1 triumph over Hearts as the fifth successive title was delivered.

Peace broke out last season in the run-in to the league and Cup double when harmony was once again restored in Paradise.

However, we are aware it is a fragile truce. Heaven help us all if things go awry again and that thumb is not removed from the pause button.

The sun may be shining in clear blue skies at the moment, but storm clouds are gathering, silently and menacingly, elsewhere.

Be warned, Celtic.

ALEX GORDON

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