Celtic’s Biggest Past Flops and Present Disappointments…
With so many new additions during each transfer window, only a limited number of Celtic signings are likely to impress the fans enough to earn cult status at Paradise. However, several incomings who have joined the club amid glowing reviews have simply failed to make any impact whatsoever in Glasgow.
For every Kyogo Furahashi and Reo Hatate, there are also Stephane Henchoz and Derk Boerrigter. Anyone lucky enough to pull on the green and white stripes will be immediately tasked with winning over the Celtic faithful, and unfortunately, several players will be remembered for the wrong reasons.
We’ve looked at some of the biggest disappointments to have arrived at Celtic over the years alongside a couple who remain contracted to the club.
Past
Vasilis Barkas
Greek international goalkeeper Vasilas Barkas arrived at Parkhead with a reputation as a dependable shot-stopper. Celtic forked out £4.5million for the 29-year-old, yet he failed to settle in Scotland and spent a large portion of his time warming the bench.
Barkas did feature in a couple of Europa League qualifying contests in which he managed to keep clean sheets against FK Sarajevo and Riga. Nevertheless, his performance levels began to drop and he was gradually phased out of the first team set-up by manager Neil Lennon.
The Athens-born keeper arrived in Scotland amid the COVID-19 pandemic and by his own admission, he struggled to get to grips with the restrictions which largely prevented him from forging bonds with the majority of his teammates. He has subsequently impressed for FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie and has suggested that his spell in Glasgow helped him to experience an alternative footballing culture.
Edson Braafheid
The name Edson Braafheid is a bit of a blast from the past for Celtic fans. Thankfully, the Dutchman was only signed initially on loan under the stewardship of Tony Mowbray with the club understandably rejecting the opportunity to turn the deal into a permanent one.
Notwithstanding his abject performances in the Scottish Premiership, Braafheid enjoyed a fairly successful career and has collected a fair amount of silverware including the Dutch Cup, Dutch Super Cup and a Bundesliga title.
Braafheid’s misery was compounded during a horrific and forgettable 4-0 defeat to St. Mirren in which the defender lasted 75 minutes before being replaced by a striker.
Remarkably, he was included in the Dutch World Cup squad for the 2010 tournament in South Africa, a decision which left most Celtic fans scratching their heads.
Honourable mentions must go to Albian Ajeti, who was signed from West Ham in 2020, and midfielder Ismaila Soro. Soro started promisingly; however, his inability to stay out of the referee’s notebook and propensity to give away needless fouls saw him fall down the pecking order before eventually being loaned out to FC Arouca in Portugal.
Present
Let’s look at two players that are currently out on loan after failing to establish themselves in the Celtic first team after arriving from Argentina and Australia. While neither is likely to play for Celtic again there’s now considerable hope that Celtic could actually make a profit of the combined investment on these two recent signings.
Alexandro Bernabei
Argentinian defender Alexandro Bernabei signed a five-year deal with Celtic back in 2022 and was expected to challenge Greg Taylor for the left-back spot.
Unfortunately, things haven’t worked out as expected with the South American having been largely restricted to fleeting appearances as a sub.
The 24-year-old was sent to Internacional, who are currently competing in Brazilian Serie A and has put in a series of eye-catching performances. He has been described as ‘lighting up’ the league and with three goals and four assists in his first 21 appearances, it’s easy to see why his current employers may wish to turn his temporary deal into a permanent arrangement.
The former Lanus star has undoubtedly contributed to an upturn in performances for the Porto Alegre-based outfit who head into the November international break unbeaten in 18 of their last 19 fixtures. With the side on such an impressive streak, the bookies have cut the price on them to oust Botafogo at the top of the Serie A standings. However, with just four games to go, they may be forced to settle for a Copa Libertadores Qualifying spot.
Roger Machado Marquez’s men still have an outside chance of securing the title this season, however, with most bookmakers on this list of sports betting sites also offering top four and top six markets, this feels like a far safer option for punters to take.
Celtic could double their money on Bernabei the January transfer window, which would be a welcome surprise for the Celtic support.
Marco Tilio
Celtic tapped into the Australian market to bring in winger Marco Tilio from Melbourne City in a deal believed to be worth around £2million. After having great success with the likes of Tom Rogic and Aaron Mooy another Aussie signing was welcomed with great excitement by the Celtic support.
The Sydney-born wide-man made just two appearances in Scotland, one of which lasted less than 90 seconds. Admittedly, Tilio’s time at the club was disrupted by injury with a pre-season complaint denying him the opportunity to get up to speed in time ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
The 22-year-old’s lack of minutes saw him sent back to the A-League. He has been capped seven times by his country and he is a hugely talented operator, however, his future at Celtic Park is starting to look extremely bleak and having suffered yet another setback just 40 minutes into his second stint at Melbourne City, he looks unlikely to fulfil his early promise.
Tilio still has time and may well return to Celtic for a second attempt at impressing Brendan Rodgers but the Celtic manager may prefer to look elsewhere after having had the chance to review the incoming signings from the summer 2023 transfer window and making calls on each one. Tilio certainly wasn’t in the ‘keep’ category.
No Marvin Comper?