Henry Onyekuru, the wide-attacking 20-year-old Celtic targeted in January, looks set to join Arsenal from Belgian club KAS Eupen. The player had a tremendous season for his newly promoted club, alerting Celtic, and prompting a walkout by the player, when his hope of a transfer in the winter window was rejected.
The moral of this story is that it has become increasingly difficult to sign even 20-year-olds who had no pedigree a year ago, when Arsenal can bid £6.8m for a player who is likely to sit for most of the season in the stands.
For Celtic, the Onyekuru experience should be informative. The player came to Belgium from the Aspire Academy in Qatar. He joined the Academy’s Senegal training facility as a 13-year-old, before moving to the Aspire Football Dreams (AFD) project at the Qatari capital, Doha.
The AFD is a humanitarian project, allowing promising kids the best opportunity to develop as footballers, while receiving an educational scholarship. As you would expect from a Qatari project, it is not underfunded.
KAS Eupen were bought by the Aspire Zone Foundation five years ago and are the Qataris route to Europe for their Academy graduates.
Processes like Aspires costs money and takes time, perhaps a decade, to bear fruit, but the money involved isn’t beyond Celtic’s grasp. As we continue to look to innovate, this case study is worth contemplating.
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JC2 …
also, a whole lot of Ivory Coast flags….
https://www.joe.ie/news/what-have-the-ivory-coast-ever-done-to-deserve-this-353431
Think they have figured it out by now?
Mind you, they dont seem to realize that they are not in Britain anyways, so, obviously, their sense of geography is not too good to begin with …
MIT
Sure they think.
Deserves the Ivorians right for having Green in their flag.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/0626/885610-gordon-glad-to-have-former-foe-hayes-on-same-side/
Does Rainjurs nine in a row count if Sevco weren’t in it?
The name is Bond James Bond
ASDA CSC
BSR- VG :)
Can we re-sign Awe Naw during The Window?
We want Awe Naw
We want Awe Naw
The Awe Naw window CSC
transfer fees
Paul Pogba, £89m Gareth Bale, £85m Ronaldo, £80m Nigel Dodds, £100m Ian Paisley Jr, £100m Jeffrey Donaldson, £100m
@JimPickard
Good afternoon, friends.
SEPA in schoddland widnae allow that mountain of pallets and tyres to be burnt here…….was just wondering if they have an equivalent organisation in norn iron…..probably best if I phone norn iron tou rist board…….they seem to be heavily involved in advertising trying to entice visitors to come and visit their wonderful country
Awe dee naw naw der noo
Awe dee naw naw der noo
Awe dee naw naw ,Awe dee naw naw
Awe dee naw naw der noo!
Braw.
Right bhoys – a quiz question; in 1967-68 a Manchester United player from my village was on the bench for the European Cup Final against Benfica. A cyber pint to anyone who knows who it was …
King is playing a blinder. The Hun Numpties are hanging onto his every word. Silly Billys
GFTB, are you seriously wanting an apology because you had a debate with neganon! Mate I have watched you argue with half this blog and never once apologised .Flung a few rattles oot the Pram right enough
BIG PACKY
Given it was only keepers who were subs in European Cups back then it would have to be Jimmy Rimmer. Two European Cup winners medals for a total of 9 minutes on the pitch in total. He got injured for Villa after 9 mins of 82 final, replaced by Nigel Spink.
Timmy Mac Benchwarmer
Smiley manc thing
Braw
Was immediately thinking of Father Teds housekeeper though!
Smiley cup of tea thing..
First day of retirement was a doddle.
Out on the bike, visit mum, cut the grass, wash the car, make the dinner, go on CQN.
Doddle.
EC67
Eurochamps67
Coming up four years in retirement. Not missing work at tal. Enjoy yours
EC67 @ 1747
HH mate, enjoy it !
Been working at it for almost a year now…. every day is a Saturday!!!
TC45
eurochamps67……congrats….have a braw retrotirement..
Braw…
gary 67 no hail hail
TC45….
Howdy partner!!
You know there is something awfy wrang with the climate ,
When you cannot leave Phoenix !!
Braw.
N. B
Howz tricks Angus loon?.
TC 45
I hope wee Henry Onyekuru enjoys not playing football with the Arsenal.
I have been contemplating…
August I apply early retirement ..
Smiley nothing will really change thing…
Braw .
Gary67 – good try but its not the right answer. Any more suggestions?
Frank Kopel
Chris Davies
Chris Davies insists Celtic are focusing only on how they can improve and will not be distracted by comments about the value of their title wins.
Rangers chairman Dave King said on Saturday that, in effect, Celtic had won two, and not six, Scottish titles in a row, because Rangers had been in the lower leagues for four seasons.
“We haven’t spoken about that sort of thing. We’re focused on the here and now,” said Celtic’s assistant manager.
“That’s what we do.”
Davies flew out from Glasgow to Austria on Monday with manager Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic squad to prepare for their Champions League second round qualifier against Linfield or San Marino’s SP La Fiorita in the second week of July.
Celtic play BW Linz on Wednesday before taking on Rapid Vienna on Saturday, with warm-up games against Slavia Prague and Shamrock Rovers to follow before their opening European tie.
“We’ve had a year working with the players and we know them a lot better,” said Davies of the treble-winning squad, who went through last season unbeaten domestically.
“This time last year when we came, we were just getting used to everyone and how things worked.
“We know everybody a little bit better, we’ve had a year working with the players and developing the areas that we wanted to when we first came in.
Celtic winger Jonny Hayes
Jonny Hayes is Celtic’s sole summer acquisition to date
“We’re in a good place and hopefully we can go away, re-focus again together and come back stronger.”
On the comments made by the Rangers chairman, Davies added: “I’ve seen little bits that have been said but I take no interest in those sort of things.
“People can say whatever they want, it’s up to them to think and say what they want. We know where we’re at, the club is secure, the club is happy and we keep working.”
Davies felt that Jonny Hayes had “settled in really well” since moving from Aberdeen, but would not comment in depth on a move for Hibernian midfielder John McGinn other than acknowledging he was a player he admired.
The Englishman said: “He’s a good player but again it’s not fair to speculate about players who belong to other clubs. He had a very good season and I’m aware of him being a good player but that’s as far as that one would go.
“We have players for every position, so there’s not one area that stands out as an alarming position that we need to fill, but of course, you’re looking at quality players.”
Big Packy
Willie Watson?
Jimbo67
CHAIRBHOY on26TH JUNE 2017 2:05 PM
Hi mate great differently I would structure it wee bit differentlu and your info makes me think of the power dynamic as
1.he took over jjbs contracts as they were distressed,Cheatfc got continuity Mash got into the +6xl market.win win.
That dynamic changed also due to LIQUIDATION.Mash and his presence in a corporate sense gave kudos to Challs of Normandy.it also enabled Mash to structure the voting rights so he was retail.
It is one of the great pointers to LIQUIDATION.it highlights rangers ending.it highlights Ther angers fc and the current circus.
Ach if only they could learn ;-)
HH
Any news today from Arithmetico Outbid or the King and eye?
No money for Scotland via the DUP deal and Scotland sends 13 Orange Tory MP’s to Westminster. Oh the Irony.
Independence GIRFUY
The hardcore Trump supporters about 50% white about 30% of the US population vote for corporate fronts because in the racist “no money for melanin abundant types” (see what I did their to avoid deletion?) they’d rather cut off their noses to spite their faces than get tax funded health care, public transport and education. How is that different from Scots voting Tory?
Stupid is as stupid does.
Qatar? Humanitarian? Is that no a poxy moron?
mon the awe naw one !
What has Miss Slovenia ever done to you Maggie?
Oh melanin not Melania
Smiley strumpfy thing…
Braw
Considering dumping my current Virgin Media TV/Broadband?Phone package as been having a fair bit of service issues of late.
Any good or bad opinion of others – most probably switching to one of the BT Packages/
Ta much
Jobo