One of the forgotten men of our 2023 summer transfer window has been going great guns away from Celtic Park recently…
In a recruitment drive that promised so much but delivered so little for returning boss Brendan Rodgers, Gustaf Lagerbielke was just one of a number of signings who just wasn’t what the manager was after.
Along with the likes of Luis Palma, Kwon and Marco Tilio, Gus didn’t set the heather on fire and Brendan thought it best to ship him out on loan, as opposed to letting him miss out on valuable development time at his age. FC Twente of the Netherlands were the ones to bite hardest and took the big Swede on a loan deal until the end of this season.
It’s a loan deal that has been working out really well for all involved, with the former Elfsborg man flourishing in the Eredivisie for Twente and also gaining recognition on the European circuit as well, earning rave reviews for outstanding performances on the Continent. So much so, interest in his services have certainly begun to ramp up in the last while.
There have been multiple reports now that Celtic did not include an option-to-buy in the temporary switch that took Gus to Holland and that the club will be looking to get as much as possible for another singing who just wasn’t the right fit from that infamous transfer window under Mark Lawwell. That decision to withhold the buy option could prove to be very wise indeed.
After his latest Man of the Match display for the Dutch side against Almere City FC at the weekend, former Ajax scout Hans van der Zee was giving his thoughts on the Sweden international and reckons he won’t go for anything under £3 million. Speaking to 1Twente VoetbalTijd, he said: I had him in mind for Ajax at one point, when he was still playing for Elfsborg. At that point he went to Celtic. They paid £3million for him. I don’t think he did well at Celtic, otherwise they wouldn’t rent him out. You won’t get him for less than three million.”
The club have shown recently they are well capable of negotiating good deals for players who are surplus to requirements at Parkhead and if Twente or anybody else wants to buy Lagerbielke, they will have to pay the going rate. Our ability to reduce the wage bill, whilst getting rid of the deadwood for decent sums to put back into the manager’s kitty, is something we will have to continue to do moving forward, so that we have every advantage possible as a club.
Gus could be the next one we flip for good money, to at least our money back.
Paul Gillespie
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