Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Carl Starfelt is set to leave Celtic. The central defender was given an appearance from the bench in today’s win over Ross County but it appears that he has made his last appearance in the Hoops.
The Italian transfer specialist has confirmed that personal terms have been agreed with Celts Vigo and the clubs are on the verge of full agreement of a deal – worth a rumoured £9.5m.
Celta Vigo are closing in on Carl Starfelt deal with Celtic — permanent transfer being agreed this weekend 🔵🇸🇪
Personal terms agreed and clubs now on the verge of completing the deal. pic.twitter.com/e63VsLEeIO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 5, 2023
The 28-year-old has been excellent since arriving from Rubin Kazan in the summer of 2021, forming a formidable defensive pairing with Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Starfelt has made 87 appearances for Celtic since arriving from the Russian side. In that time, he has scored three times and assisted twice. Rodgers may have wanted to keep Starfelt around, even with the arrival of Polish central defender Nawrocki, but the player is seeking a fresh challenge and it’s likely for the best that the cash received is reinvested.
Expect this deal to be concluded swiftly with Starfelt keen on a move closer to his partner, Jacynta, who moved to Sporting Lisbon.
If this is true, then that was totally stupid to bring him on when others on the bench should have been given some game time.
If Celta Vega are offering £9.5M for Starfelt, they should be left with some serious bite marks all the way up their arms!
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out we overpaid for him, and we paid less than half of that!
To play him even from the bench today is not something I would have done. But I’m not the manager!
I have heard all of the “best defensive partnerships in the league” and all that stuff, but for me, I have never liked him as a player, and from day one always felt he has been a liability. A dangerous man to be the last man back before the goalie. Goes to ground far too easily, always in danger of giving away penalties, bad passes to others under pressure, and especially putting Hart under unnecessary pressure. He is a liability, so if we are getting that amount for him, once we bank it, we should turn ourselves in to the authorities!
I agree with Joe that Starfelt was always a bomscare of a player, as once again demonstrated today. He always seemed slow to me, both in movement and in vision on the park. I wish him all the best in Spain, but won’t really be sorry to see him go.
That having been said, the game today, as with the game against Athletic Bilbao, showed that Celtic desperately need to start spending some money on a few quality players. Goalkeeper and a couple of decent defenders to compliment Carter-Vicars and Nawrocki would be a good start, but we also need someone to replace Jota and possibly an additional quality striker. The transfer window closes in a few weeks and we’re not showing any signs of buying these much-needed players. Unless that changes quickly, it will be utter humiliation in Europe with the present defensive setup.