Eboue breaks signing guidelines

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You will remember we track the number of appearances young players make before they sign for Celtic. We have a sweet spot of around 60 games (van Dijk: 62, Wanyama: 51, Dembele: 56).

It typically takes this number of games before a prospect will raise his profile enough to come to our attention, and for subsequent scouting to take place. Consider the process. Before recommending a player to Celtic, one of their in-country scouts will have to see him perform on a number of occasions and tested at a level comparable to the challenges faced by Celtic.

Alternatively, agents will need to produce DVDs to entice some interest. It takes time to differentiate a Kieran Tierney from a one season wonder.

Leave it later, say until around 100 games have been played, and a van Dijk is likely to flicker on radars in England or Germany. Celtic’s chances of acquiring the player would be considerably diminished, as even one season wonders can fetch £8m when an EPL club shows interest. Out of Celtic’s reach, but often still rubbish.

Kouassi Eboue breaks our guidelines. The teenager has made a starting line-up on 16 occasions in senior football plus three as a sub. He was red carded once and subbed off four times, so he’s only played 11 full games. 11 games is not a lot to base a £3m purchase on.

On the plus side, the quality of many of those games is reassuring. Five of his 90 minutes came in the Europa League against Salzburg, Nice and Schalke, so Celtic will have had the chance to see him perform against decent European sides – as an 18-year-old.

There are things I don’t know about this deal, where the recommendation came from being the most significant. I don’t recognise his agent, so not surprisingly it appears we’ve reached beyond the pools we were fishing in under Ronny and Neil. Kouassi also appears to be the agent’s most/only valuable asset. As such, I doubt the initiation came from the agent, or if the player’s profile was raised with anyone outside Russia before Celtic had the preliminaries signed.

Is a season in the Europa League the new sweet spot for a Celtic prospect? Stay tuned.

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406 Comments

  1. Sky transfer centre on line backing up the Dembele bid story,

     

    Celtic source says no bid received

  2. GLENDALYSTONSILS on 5TH JANUARY 2017 6:18 PM

     

    If W. Ham have only bid 6m for Defoe , there is no way they will have put a 20m bid for Moussa.

     

     

    Why not, given that the 6M is a bid for Defoe who is 34 years old! Mousa is still a kid, so I would not be at all surprised at their bid. It is too low!!!

  3. Bournesouprecipe-6:15pm.The Alpine Man?In ml3 we just called him the ginger man:-)).Did anybody else’s mam use them as hot water bottles:-)))

  4. right a wee bit of devilment for yeese, its new year 1967.

     

     

    your the board, or mr stein,

     

     

    the world record xfr fee is sitting at

     

    1967 Denmark Harald Nielsen Italy Bologna Italy Internazionale 300,000[24]

     

     

     

    a bid comes in for a player at a world record fee of £350,000.

     

    you chose the player, i think there is a case that several of them could have been subject to world record fees at the time,

     

     

     

    your the manager, or the board member, you cant see the future 2nd half of the season , for those of the right vintage , was anyone surplus ? would there have been anyone the supporters would have let go ?

     

     

    its jinky or murdoch or auld or lemon, or mcneil .

     

     

    what would we have witnessed then ?

     

     

    discuss

  5. Go tell the Spartim on

    Lennybhoy

     

     

    As one of the more accurate soothsayers yours was the moniker I could remember though not well enough.

     

     

    Thanks for the info

  6. FAIRHILL BHOY on 5TH JANUARY 2017 7:09 PM

     

    Bournesouprecipe-6:15pm.The Alpine Man?In ml3 we just called him the ginger man:-)).Did anybody else’s mam use them as hot water bottles:-)))

     

     

     

    —————-

     

     

    run that bye me again willis – your mam used the ginger alpine man as a hot water bottle ?

     

     

    -))))))

  7. glendalystonsils on

    GERRYBHOY on 5TH JANUARY 2017 7:06 PM

     

     

    I don’t doubt that Dembele is worth many times more than Defoe, I just can’t imagine W Ham making that sort of opening bid (assuming they have submitted a bid) for an SPFL player.

     

     

    BTW whit’s all this talk about Paisley? I suspect a pattern is developing here.

     

     

    I’ll get ma coat………

  8. As regards the Alpine man. We used to get ginger delivered in Renfrew from, if my memory serves me right, Jaegers (sp?) who I think came from the Port. They were eventually replaced by the Alpine man who sold bigger, meaner bottles.

     

    A common bedside accompaniment – nae wonder everybody had bad teeth! ;-)

  9. As a Queenslie bhoy for a while, the Alpine factory got visited at night regularly…..not by my good self of course…

  10. mild mannered Pedro delgado on

    In Kilsyth

     

     

    We use ginger in cooking

     

     

    Av no idea to whit Yooz are talk n about by the way

  11. GO TELL THE SPARTIM on 5TH JANUARY 2017 7:20 PM

     

    There are other Clubs interested though.

     

    I also hear we are keen to extend Patrick Roberts loan with a view to making it permanent.

     

    Keep the Faith!

     

    Hail Hail!

  12. ExSlaemuirBhoy on

    SAINT STIVS on 5TH JANUARY 2017 7:49 PM

     

    jagger’s

     

     

    That’s what we called Jamsie Garvie (Jagger) GRHS . Down to his hair colouring (ginger)

  13. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Bon Accord

     

    The poor replacement for Alpine

     

     

    I was once hit by an alpine bottle thrown at me by some orcs as I walked alone from Dalmarnock to Celtic park, possibly 79

     

    We lost to the sheep that night too.

  14. aye, i remember,

     

     

    we are gonny be going stir crazy with this 3 week lay off, its barely started and we have got through celtic saints, the delights of bute, and now different types of lumma-lade.

     

     

    god help us …………..

     

     

    i am away to get my toasted cheese

  15. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Pog

     

     

    Whenever I go to Manchester Googybhoy requests Irn Bru in glass bottles as well as square sausage and plain breed

  16. Marrakesh Express on

    Wee plastic bottles of limeade were barred at you know where. Every other flavour available

  17. Pogmathonyahun- you can still get the wee bottles of Coca-Cola in the supermarkets,nice when cold,but still not the same as :-))

  18. Marrakesh Express on

    As were green straws, pepperami, polo mints and green jelly babies. Oh and the green snooker table.

  19. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Banned from iPox?

     

    Rowing boats, honesty, sporting integrity etc etc

  20. Marrakesh Express on

    The hun were ever so excited in the 80s when word came out they were laying Texas blue grass on the pitch. Got a few laughs out of that.

  21. If west ham bid 20m on 5 January you’ve got to wonder how high they’ll go by 31

     

     

    It’s not the worst club for him to go to as well – they’re struggling at the moment but they’re perfectly positioned to challenge the big clubs over the next ten years

     

     

    They also must know that Sunderland won’t sell them Defoe

  22. Just remembered joke at the time of Rangers under Souness,while dining at a plush hotel Ian Ferguson was asked would he like ginger with his melon he replied Ill have a glass of wine like everyone else.

  23. !!BADA BING!! on 5TH JANUARY 2017 7:41 PM

     

    As a Queenslie bhoy for a while, the Alpine factory got visited at night regularly…..not by my good self of course…

     

    ————————

     

    Alpine in Ruglen ..a stop off for us if we were stayin at a mates after night on bevvy ,just a couple of bottles to help with hangover in morn.

     

    Oh to be 15 again :O)

  24. Hi Bhoys

     

     

    Before Alpine there was Lees ginger van and also a bakers van Ascot.

     

     

    KEEP THE FAITH

  25. Melbourne Mick on

    Hello again all you young rebels.

     

     

    Definitely going to be a long three weeks with all the

     

    toasted cheese, blue chalk, and limeade, so i’ll throw

     

    in for brekkie, a piece with lard scrapings from the frying

     

    pan and for dinner, tripe and onions in milk.yum..yum.

     

    H.H Mick