The will he won’t he Shane Duffy to Celtic rumour appears to be dragging on and it seems there are mixed messages afoot.
Just as Lubo98 reported earlier on the Celtic Star this morning there are already contradicting reports from both The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath claiming Celtic have won the race to sign Hearts youngster Aaron Hickey – see here – https://thecelticstar.com/journalist-claims-celtic-have-beaten-european-champions-to-signing-of-starlet/ – while the Daily Record’s Ross Pilcher has claimed via his Twitter account that Celtic have yet to place a bid – see here https://thecelticstar.com/mixed-messages-journo-says-hearts-have-received-no-bid-from-celtic-for-aaron-hickey/.
Now those mixed messages have continued with the reported interest in Shane Duffy being questioned by Athletic journalist Kieran Devlin as he appeared as a guest on The Cynic (previously the 90 Minute Cynic) ‘The Agenda’ podcast. Devlin is a respected journalist and one of the few with access to the Celtic games this season.
Devlin reported on the Duffy deal that he had been in touch with his counterpart at Brighton and Hove Albion who in turn is in weekly contact with the CEO at Brighton. Devlin told the podcast that as far as his source advised there ‘had been no official contact from Celtic to date’ and that ‘the only people they’ve had contact with have been West Brom and I think now West Ham as well’ Devlin also added that in his opinion he’d ‘be surprised if it happens’.
If that’s the case it’s somewhat at odds with what has been reported in the press so far and by some of the players and his family’s actions on social media. It also would contradict Lennon’s ‘tentative enquiries’ comments made at last week’s press conference and pours cold water on a reported £2million loan fee already being quoted from Brighton to Celtic.
Of course, this doesn’t mean any deal hasn’t been discussed with the player or the agent it may only indicate there has been no official discussions between the two clubs so far and certainly wouldn’t discount third party approaches.
With the rumours ‘flying’ around yesterday that Duffy was on a flight to Scotland, Devlin on the same podcast confirmed that Duffy was indeed flying to Scotland for a training camp in Dundee with his Brighton teammates and not to sign on at Celtic. That information also came from the same source as his Shane Duffy information. The click baiting went into overdrive on that Brighton team flight yesterday with the MSM followed by one or two Celtic sites leading the way. It has to be said that Duffy himself is a right big tease.
While none of this shows Celtic are not interested in Shane Duffy – a player Brendan Rodgers initially targeted alongside Scotty Sinclair when he arrived at Celtic in May 2016 – as an option to shore up what has been a somewhat rusty backline to date, it would certainly indicate that the deal may still be some way off a conclusion if even a viable option at all.
Celtic Underground also mentioned yesterday their rumour that Liverpool were looking at Kristopher Ajer, who is a player that Celtic will not want to see ‘doing a Boyata’ and running down his contract before leaving. Once bitten, Peter.
Liverpool looking at Ajer.
— Celtic Underground* (@celticrumours) August 24, 2020
Whether Celtic do proceed with an official approach to Brighton with a view to signing Shane Duffy or not Celtic are certainly in need of not only reinforcements but also competition for Kris Ajer (if he stays), Christopher Jullien and recently converted midfielder Nir Bitton.
If it’s not to be Duffy then we can only hope that Nick Hammond has alternative options up his sleeve to add strength and depth to a defence still requiring a replacement for Jozo Simunovic. Lennon has made it crystal clear to everyone that in his opinion a central defender is a necessity and it’s a view few in the Celtic support would disagree with.
Niall J
