Moi Elyounoussi time at Celtic looks like being over after his second full-season loan formally ended last week. He will now returned to his parent club Southampton after his international commitments with Norway are over and will await developments amid reports that he is going to be given a chance at the Premier League club and also increasing interest in the former FC Basel forward particularly from Germany.
Celtic’s chances of getting a third season loan deal for the player seem to be a complete non-starter with neither Southampton and probably not the player himself interested in that. So Celtic would have to tempt Saints with an offer for a player that they couldn’t refuse and that would only be a realistic option if for instance a current Celtic player, say for example Ryan Christie, was used as a makeweight in any deal. That might suit all parties but you’d have to doubt there would be much enthusiasm from Elyounoussi himself for another stint in Glasgow where things are uncertain to say the least and where many of the top players, including his Norwegian compatriot Kris Ajer, are set to leave the club.
So the chances of a permanent deal for Moi seem slim to non existent. Norwegian media outlet VG reports on Moi’s situation today stating:
After a failed first season at Southampton and two seasons on loan at Celtic, all indications are that Elyounoussi will return to the Premier League club next season. According to VG’s information, the southern English club wants to give the Norwegian a chance. This is due to several factors: Elyounoussi has delivered encouraging performances in Scotland, Southampton need reinforcements on the edges and their 4-4-2 formation suits “Moi” far better than when they played 3-5-2. He is still popular in Germany, where several clubs have him on the block, but Southampton are not interested in loaning him out. If there is a good enough offer to buy him, it may be more relevant.
The Norwegian seemed to split opinion among the support and certainly seemed to go from a key player to an anonymous figure from one week to the next. Maybe that had more to do with the general mayhem at the club, the discontent in the dressing room caused by the Want Aways and the lack of elite coaching at the club, caused by the CEO, than on Elyounoussi himself, who can be reasonably satisfied with his own season given his goalscoring and assists.
Last word goes to Sandman who perhaps wasn’t so generous in his own appraisal of Moi in his players’ review of last season….
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