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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okay no one wants to answer my post clue gerry fae the brig knows my village please reply hail hail.
So it’s not Frank Kopel then Big Packy?
big packy on 26th June 2017 6:47 pm
okay no one wants to answer my post clue gerry fae the brig knows my village please reply hail hail.
———-
That’s an awful clue.
And someone did answer above, don’t know if it was correct.
no its not tully 57
jimbo67 on 26th June 2017 6:24 pm
Big Packy
Willie Watson?
Big Packy
Nor Willie Watson.? Initials FB? Now resident in Western Australia
Jimbo67
Big packy
Frank Burns?
Congratulations Eurochamps may you have a long and happy retirement.
We love being retired and are getting better at it with every passing year
Hail Hail and all the best from Moyra and me.
right first francis.
mags yes francie burns next door neighbour 30 gayne drive glenboig i was32 gayne drive
Thank you to everyone who has commented kindly on my retirement.
Eurochamps67
Congratulations on your retirement.
Weebawbabbity 5.44pm
Don’t take any if my posts seriously,,,,, I certainly don’t :-)
May I take this opportunity to apologise to half the blog that I have argued with, must have been rubbish arguements as I can’t even remember them :-)
SelectivememoryCSC
Hamilton Tim thoughts and prayers with your friend, a think a know him as he is good friend of my wife
I was told by a well known CQN Bhoy that Brendan didn’t want Sevco being able to acquire ” the best of the rest” players from the SPFL.
That Celtic new that Sevco had an interest in Hayes ,and therefore this heightened our desire to sign him.
I would appear going after McGinn from Hibs may also be part of this plan.
I just hope somewhere down the line we pull a rabbit out of the hat and sign Paddy Roberts .
Or are we waiting to see if we sell Moussa ,or if there is a sell in fee for the sale of big Virgil .
It would appear that we are back to being very cautious ,and no big money will be spent until we know if we are in the CL.
TT
Knew not new.
TT
Big jimmy when you coming back mate, missing your wit
TinyTim on 26th June 2017 7:25 pm
It would appear that we are back to being very cautious ,and no big money will be spent until we know if we are in the CL.
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No one that is worth big money will sign for us unless we are in the CL, it’s always been that way.
Tinytim
John McGinn? – no thanks
no better than what we have some of whom can’t get a game.
BARROWBHOY-New York New York is good for fitba loads of big screens:-
Please please please it’s no blantir:-)) it’s blanur:-))
TINYTIM on 26TH JUNE 2017 7:25 PM
I was told by a well known CQN Bhoy that Brendan didn’t want Sevco being able to acquire ” the best of the rest” players from the SPFL.
——
Can’t see the logic in this at all. Players are signed because they are good enough for Celtic, no other reason. The idea you mention gives the Huns way too much credence. They are not on Brendan’s radar.
Jobo
Without knowing the details of your issues, I’d still hold off ditching
Virgin it’s the only true cable service in the UK never mind EK .
Settle your differences the broadband speeds offered elsewhere don’t compare for the simple reason that virgin cable was purpose built.
You won’t know I’m right until you switch to BT which you’ll truly regret.
okay cyber pint goes to mags mgill at least he replied.
BIG PACKY
You mean she replied?
Shirley CSC
big packy on 26th June 2017 7:46 pm
okay cyber pint goes to mags mgill at least he replied.
—————
Burns wasn’t on the bench* in the final, maybe that’s why there was a lack of answers (despite there being a few answers which you ignored and some you answered) :O)
*And by bench I mean as in can get on the pitch
JOBO
If you change your services to BT I think you need an outside or communal aerial to get their TV services.
Also BT broadband speed not a patch on virgin.
KEEP THE FAITH
Evening Celts
Yeah, cant see any signings unless we qualify.
Very,very cautious.
PL will probably think because we won the treble….we dont need to strengthen.
Yawn.
HH
Jobo- watch for packages which have Broadband download limits, you hit them easily these days HH
Ole Eurochamps I hope you have a long and happy retirement….
you deserve it for having to put up with BSRs patter.hh :O)
Good Evening..,,
Something new: “The Fanta Years”
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/the-fanta-years/
Jobo-I pay a fair whack for virgin,their wifi is shocking and very slow,keep telling the wife I’m cancelling!
Will have to be out early in Morning,forgot my beloved wife’s anniversary card,will
get her a Portuguese wan…her eyes are not so great when she gets up…here’s hoping.
whishmeluck c.s.c
I plagerised MurdochAuldandHay in work today with King …. he hasn’t even got two eyes in a row. To be honest two out of the four were in stitches.
The other two just walked away shaking their heads, ach well it’s not my fault they have no sense of humour.
Cheers anyway, MAH. You made my day ;))))))))
okay bhoys im not good enough for any replies to my post sad realy god bless hail hail.
Broadband, just done a speed test and am reaching the dizzy heights of 2.94 Mbps, I pay for 3, but this will go down by half a meg in an hour or so.
You folks don’t know how lucky you are :-)
I have a take it or leave it choice here, no chance of Spain’s version of BT, the exchange is full, sat cos are not interested as there is no customer base, fecked.
…………………………………
EC67
Enjoy your retirement mi amigo, what you will find after time is that there is not enough hours in the day :-)
HH
TINYTIM-newco are not in our pay grade.so if they want a player that we want, what’s stopping them:-)
THanks for the various responses.
Things came to a head over the weekend. My Bhoy moved from one area of Paisley to another and was 7 months into his Virgin media contract. But there’s no Virgin coverage in the area he’s moved to and he was told he still has to pay the remaining 5 months on his contract, about £200 (if he cancels now he gets to settle for £196!). I’m of a mind to cancel too to show moral support! However, the advice on this page is now making me think twice. My monthly package (Broadband, phone, TV and BT Sport) is £84 so just over a grand a year. I think I could save about £600 switching to BT, but sounds as if I may need to reconsider.
Hmmmm…….