A £5 million fee and a reported £40,000 a week contract for a player at 28 years of age is probably a little steep for Celtic.
For a 22-year-old with possible resale value it may have merit, for a player of Duffy’s age any future return is likely to be negligible in comparison to the original outlay.
Yet that looks like what Brighton and Hove Albion defender and reported Celtic target Shane Duffy will cost Celtic if they wish to sign him permanently.
Celtic’s stance so far appears to have been a one-year loan deal with part of the hefty wage being picked up by Brighton in a similar way to Moi Elyounoussi’s Southampton loan deal or Fraser Forster’s arrangement last season.
Brighton so far have indicated that’s not an option unless Celtic are willing to pay a £2million loan fee. You can see why Brighton owner Tony Bloom did so well as professional poker player can’t you?
With an impasse reached and a player on their books that manager Graham Potter has deemed surplus to requirements there is however a need to get Shane Duffy out of the Amex stadium and off to an alternative buyer. West Brom doesn’t seem somewhere the player is willing to consider and the alternative interest from London’s east end and (skint) West Ham United appears to have stalled as they deal with the excesses of Manuel Pellegrini’s failed attempts in the transfer market. Celtic now appear to have a half decent hand left in this particular game.
Duffy has apparently made it clear his boyhood club and a chance to be part of ten-in-a-row is his preferred choice and is digging his heels in. Brighton want the £40k a week Duffy is earning off the wage bill and now according to this morning’s Sunday Post there may be a compromise on the table.
It would seem Brighton are now willing to spread the cost of the transfer fee over a four-year period leaving Celtic with £1.25 million to pay on an annual basis over what you would assume would be a four-year contract at Celtic. This would seem a compromise that could suit Celtic, spreading the fee over the term of Duffy’s contract would allow Celtic to get the player on a permanent deal rather that a loan deal and negate the £2million loan fee stumbling block that appears to have been the issue.
There still of course would lie one big issue for Celtic to get over. £40,000 per week is likely to be too rich for Celtic and its unlikely Duffy would be willing to compromise too much. He may sacrifice a little to join the club he supports but just how much he’d be willing to bend would be where this deal could be signed and sealed or consigned to what could have been.
Would Duffy be willing to sign on for £30k with a deal weighted in bonuses over the next four years? Who knows, but when you consider Celtic’s Champions League record over the last few years I’m not sure his agent would want the bonuses weighted too much on Celtic’s group stage qualification.
What does seem clear is that a deal that looked as if the three parties involved were miles apart may now have room for manoeuvre. It should make for an interesting few days.
Niall J
