Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has claimed he was keen to sign on loan Celtic defender Liam Scales on a permanent basis this summer, but instead had to settle for a season long loan deal for Celtic’s signing from Shamrock Rovers last year.
As reported in Scottish Sun, Goodwin admits the Dons tried to ascertain what it would cost to get Scales on a long-term deal, but it was made clear Celtic were not interested in selling the player.
“I’m a big fan of the loan market as it gives you the opportunity to sign players that you would maybe not normally be able to afford.
“The size of club we are we want to be signing players on permanent contracts. That conversation was had with Celtic initially.
“We wanted to know what the number was and could we make it happen. Celtic are not willing to sell Liam at this moment. That’s fair enough because he is their player, and he is on a long-term contract until 2025.
“Certainly we will enter into those discussions in January if Liam has the kind of success we expect him to have here. Hopefully he is enjoying his time at Aberdeen and will want to sign on with us. That is by the by just now.
“The players that we have signed are good ones. We need to use the loan market as we see fit and we’ll do that.”
Celtic of course will look to Aberdeen as both a destination the player could improve and develop, but also one that puts Scales in the shop window when it comes to further potential suitors for Scales.
Aberdeen after all seems to be a place where footballing scouts buy season tickets, given the recent success they had shifting Calvin Ramsay to Liverpool, the interest being shown in midfielder Lewis Ferguson and Connor Barron’s breakthrough season in the North-East.
As such Celtic will know, with Scales contracted until 2025, that interest from down south or abroad may materialise for Scales, something that was far less likely to happen with us due to his lack of gametime with Celtic.
And who knows, Scales may well kick on and impress Ange Postecoglou enough give the player a second chance at Celtic, after all Ryan Christie headed for Pittodrie and was expected to sign there permanently, only to grab his chance under Brendan Rodgers on the back of impressive performances for the Dons before becoming a vital player for Celtic for a spell.
A loan deal for Scales at this juncture makes far more sense than selling the player, after all Aberdeen would be unlikely to even shell out the £500k Celtic paid for Scales last year, meanwhile plenty of clubs who keep a close eye on the young talent emerging at Pittodrie will have far deeper pockets.
Niall J
