There was a standing joke on here for years. On day one of the transfer window someone would write, “The transfer window’s been open 13 hours and still no news, get your finger out Celtic”. It mirrored the less jovial comments when the transfer window had 13 hours left, although “get your finger out Celtic” occasionally still featured.
It’s not just Celtic, transfer business is a deadline activity. Why sell your prime asset early when you know desperate clubs will pay over the odds to appease the manager who is demanding sufficient resources to meet target?
You need to work an angle to pick up prime cuts this early in the window. We picked up Virgil van Dijk for a paltry £2.6m in June 2013, which is remarkable, considering he is an outstanding player who was working in one of Europe’s heavily scouted leagues.
We got in early with van Dijk, who had been released by Willem II without playing a game before making 62 appearances with Groningen. A false start followed by a period with just enough form to tempt Celtic’s scouts, but not so much as to alert the slower footed.
So what do we know about Dedryck Boyata? He’s 24, three years older than Virgil when he joined, but has played around half the number of first team games Virgil had experienced. Dedryck was vacuumed up by City as a 16-year-old, part of the annual harvest major clubs make each year. He clearly had something about him to convince City to retain him, but first team outings were rare. When Celtic came shopping a year ago, City were prepared to live without Jason Denayer for a season, but not Dedryck, who went into their first team squad.
It’s correct to say that knowledge of Dedryck is scarce, even among City fans, but Ronny has spent time on City’s training fields with him, and had him watched extensively in non-first team outings over the last year.
Is he the answer to our defensive prayers? Time will tell, but the recruitment strategy which brought him here is coherent. All our scouts and management team have watched him to the extent that a consensus has been reached. His profile is not high enough to commend a fee which is out with our budget, and most importantly, we can bring him in now, making sure he’s embedded before the potentially lucrative Petrofac Cup Champions League qualifiers.
Welcome to Celtic, Dedryck.
Still laughing, in case you were in any doubt.
684 Comments- Pages:
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ekbhoy
17:54 on 3 June, 2015
No worries , I remember some old codgers years ago getting turfed out the snug for wearing football colours , EK Thistle
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well the signs on the wall say no football colours
and im in the other non-snug bit cos the racing is on the telly
it is so much a hun pub. i only jump in now and again cos its convenient!
Robert tressell
And it’s a bad day when Keevins for one, sells his soul and tows the party line.
Richard Wilson.
Amateur writer, professional Hun.
Tommy Sheridan.
Glesga’s answer to Derek Hatton.
‘Bring on the revolution! Haud oan! Wait ’til a put ma Armani suit oan!’
HH!!
Canman
Out with my father in law for a wee birthday drink
Long you home for?
Andy Murray looking good for the smi final so far.
Oops, a semi obviously:)))
sipsini
18:18 on 3 June, 2015
Oops, a semi obviously:)))
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At your age ye should be happy wae raising a smile :-)
Tommy Sheridan..politics aside…would gie himsel luv bites if he could..I was at Uni the same time as him…
Kikinthenakas
HT…
HaHa…as soon as I hit post I regreted it :)
Another season to look forward to, free from the hun hordes polluting our game
another grand Dunblane bhoy……. Murray comes through in 4 sets …..braw
Good evening friends.
Wilson and Waddell getting in a tizzy with one another about the GASL. Brilliant!
Well done Andy Murray.
MacIntyre asks if there’s any doubts if the money is there.
Errrrr………
just in for a few minutes, so haven’t had the chance to read back yet…. but a few random thoughts.
1. Murray did well against Ferrer, but think Djokovic is unbeatable on clay at the moment. Only chance he loses is against a huge server on grass. Think the French is his to win.
2. Not sure what to make of the last line in today’s article. Was Paul67 really Kojo all along?! :)
Lang may sevco’s lum reek in the ole Championship. Ever lower is an even better thought.
Well done to Andy, here’s hoping he can go all the way in the French open and put all the doubts on his ability to bed.
Apologies…I can’t remember who gave me the heads up on letting the battery on the iPad go flat, then recharge it, it’s worked a treat. Cheers.
Yeah, you have to fancy Djokovic but it would be really great if Andy Murray were to win in Paris.
Sipsini
A semi?!
You should come out to Italy more often.
Without the weans.
You would make the final nae bother!
HH!!
Sipsini
I’m your man.
Always a good idea to run down the battery.
Well done, big Andy.
Should have a tough final v Moshny !
Young Chalmers released by the hoops has signed a 2 year contract with Motherwell another academy player doesnt make the grade. H.H.
Roll on the CL qualifiers this fishing off the pier isn’t easy :)
Sweet-Corn tomorrow that should do the trick.
tinytim
16:16 on 3 June, 2015
I keep seeing that Celtic have already sold 44,000 season tickets.
It was just posted by someone on my Facebook.
How does anyone know this?
Celtic have not released any information to my knowledge.
Can anyone provide any proof that Celtic have actually already sold this amount of season tickets?
TT
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It would be great if true. We need to get the stadium full and rocking again. Fill the seats iunder the ironic ad ‘a club like no other’.
When I renewed yesterday, I was told “well ahead of predictions”..no numbers tho…
Kikinthenakas
Talk about brass neck
From twitter
“Genius from #Sevco. They won’t pay back the £5m and want the onerous contract nullified. Dave King = brass neck”. http://rangersinternationalfootballclub.com/images/staticcontent/documents/Directors_%20Statement_030615.pdf …
Paul67 et al
Well done Andy, Novac next up!
tallybhoy…
I hope to make it to Italy again next year, you can set me up :))
Big shaggy…
Cheers mate.
Ahhhh… Not again :))
Sorry bigshuggy….typo, I’ve only had the one can aswel :)))
sipsini
:))))))))
Evening fellow Tim’s.
That tube Wilson and his equally nauseous colleague Lamont are Sevco shareholders.
To attend The Sevco EGM you had to be a shareholder, journalists were not admitted. They were both in attendance and fellow journalists said at the time that both were shareholders.
leftclicktic…
Good to here your foot problem will be resolved soon. HH
I think the sevco statement really just says one thing: “Onerous Contracts”.
Who’d have thunk it?
sipsini
Better a break than Gout. IMO
Thank you
Till later all
Ps the staff at Monklands hospital were top drawer today .
Foghorn leghorn
You could always try the Calderwood Inn ; years back ai was asked for the half time scores by a sedentary auld geezer ; 2-0 to Celtic , I replied in all innocence.
Well that didn’t go down too well , lots of muttering and rattling of dominoes ….
Well Done Andy Murray…One of Scotlands Greatest Ever Individual Sportsmen….
Enjoyed reading the ‘auld yins’ recollections of following Celtic for all those years. As an member of that ‘clique’ I found it interesting that the 1967 final rated as their best memory in all cases. Well, as someone who went to see the ‘Tiic (well actually I was taken by my Dad) from 1943 winning the 1951 Scottish Cup was more memorable to ME than the European Cup. I think we actually won the Glasgow Cup or Charity Cup before that maybe 49/50 but that could not compare. I wrote an essay in the prelim Highers about it a few years later and the heid bummer wrote ‘what a choice for a Higher candidate!! The first one after all the bleak years will always be the best! BTW 54 years married in October this year . Does that get me a free pint next I meet some CQN afficionados?