So we are now over half way through the January transfer window and so far, despite daily rumours, we still haven’t seen any players exit Celtic Park for pastures new. Going into January I think pretty much all of us had accepted that we would be losing our Croatian right back Josip Juranovic after his heroic effort in helping his country to a third place finish at the World Cup in Qatar. We reckoned that interest would be high for Juranovic and the signing of another World Cup star, Canadian Alistair Johnston, pretty much confirmed that Josip would be leaving for a top club in the few weeks that followed.
After a fantastic year and a half playing in the hoops where Juranovic became a stand out player in both our domestic games and in Europe, topped off by his World Cup performances, we were all pretty certain we would be receiving somewhere north of £15m for the Croatian international. This wasn’t the case of fans thinking their players are worth more than they actually are. The evidence was there that he was worth as much. I’m not talking about pointing the finger south of the border and saying but look at what they got for so and so. This was about looking at recent fees received for players at OUR club.
Look at the money we got for the likes of Dembele, Tierney, Édouard and Ajer. Most of these players were also nearing the end of their contracts and we still netted over £15m for each of them. Look at Frimpong who burst on to the scene in an underperforming Celtic team under Neil Lennon and was suddenly snapped up for £11.5m by Bayer Leverkusen. No Champions League outings and no international caps.
Yes, they were all younger than Juranovic but none had the international pedigree of the Croatian and none were recently one of the stars in a team which just reached the semi final of a World Cup. With so long left on his contract and his stock being so high I honestly believe most of us would have felt duped had the club even entertained any offers below £15m. Here we are however just a few weeks later and the talk is of unfashionable clubs such as Monza offering merely half that sum including a loan before buy clause. Hold on a minute. What? How?
Then we look at the case of another player being linked with a move out of Glasgow, fans favourite Giorgos Giakoumakis. Now this one really annoys me. In Juranovic’s case I will thank him and wish him every success when he leaves but I don’t think we will overly miss what he brought to the table. We have signed a ready made replacement in Alastair Johnston and also have Anthony Ralston as back up to the Canadian. Im more than happy with that. Johnston was a great piece of business and I think will go on to prove an even more important player to Celtic than Juranovic was.
In regards to Giakoumakis however this one leaves me a lot more fearful. The Greek is unique within our squad in an attacking sense. Most of our forward players are the small, fast, skillful type. Giakoumakis is totally different. He is strong and combative, capable of providing a focal point in our forward line when it’s just not working for the smaller guys. More than that though, he is an out and out goalscorer. The amount of goals he scores on his first touch is incredible. He is the typical 6 yard box poacher as proved at the weekend against Kilmarnock. These players are worth their weight in gold. So how much is that then? Well according to reports we are willing to let him go for around £3.5m. Astonishing.
This is a striker who in his last two seasons has been top goalscorer in both Holland and Scotland. A proven goalscorer who still has a long contract at Celtic. It beggars belief it really does. It will be almost impossible to replace what Giakoumakis offers this team with that paltry sum. We got more than that for selling Patryk Klimala. We paid more than that for Albian Ajeti. Let that sink in. The transfer market has not softened that much since then. There are still plenty of clubs throwing money around at will. We should not be considering offers at these bargain bin prices for two of our top players. So why are we?
I have seen many people blame this on Peter Lawwell. I’m no fan of his but this I just don’t get. One thing we know about Lawwell is that when it comes to money it’s like getting blood out of a stone. I just don’t see him happy to let two sellable assets like this leave for so little. If there is an extra pound to be made you can be sure Peter will be holding out for it. So what is going on?
The only reasonable explanation I can think of is they both have release clauses. Both players signed long term contracts but neither are on top money when compared to others within the squad. If this is the case and other teams are meeting that price and are offering more wages then they will be hard to keep.
In Juranovic’s case I don’t think Celtic actually want to keep him. They will be thinking strike while the irons hot and get as much money for him as possible. The signing of Johnston pretty much proves this. Are interested teams thinking this leaves Celtic vulnerable? They know Celtic don’t want to hold on to him so think they can lowball us? They are probably right and although it’s great getting replacements in early it does open you up to this kind of situation. As long as there isn’t a release clause then Celtic should play hardball with this and set a minimum price to open discussions. Put it out there that he’s on a long-term contract and we have no need to sell.
Giakoumakis is a slightly different case. I don’t think Celtic would have particularly wanted to see the Greek leave. I have a feeling he doesn’t particularly want to leave either. This is all about wages. Now we don’t know what Giorgos is demanding and it may well be something ridiculous that we just won’t pay, then fair enough. He’s still on a long term contract however so we should still hold out for more money, again unless there is a release clause in his contract.
If his demands are reasonable then we should be doing everything in our power to strike a deal with the player. This is another area where people think Peter Lawwell may be holding the purse strings and this I would be more inclined to believe. Giakoumakis has proven his worth over the past year and a half and we really should be offering him good terms on a new deal. It will cost a hell of a lot more in fees and wages to get in a suitable replacement.
One good sign however is that both these players are still getting game time which means neither must have indicated to the manager yet that they are wanting to leave. We know Ange Postecoglou has a policy which is if you don’t want to be at this club then no one will hold you against your will and I like that attitude. We saw during the failed ten in a row bid how having players with their minds elsewhere can pan out. When young Ben Doak indicated that he would not sign a contract and wanted to move on his career at Celtic was basically ended. We never saw him play under Ange again. So the fact we are still seeing Juranovic and Giakoumakis in the squad tells me they aren’t rocking the boat too much.
Either way this whole saga isn’t showing Celtic in the greatest light. In recent times we have built a reputation as shrewd operators who get decent money for their assets. If these two transfers proceed for the type of money that is being rumoured than that could put an end to all that. Other clubs will look at us and think we are ripe for the picking. That’s the opposite of the image we are trying to perceive.
Conall McGinty
The constant digs at Peter Lawwell are infantile at best! Typical of negative fans, you always look to point fingers, and Lawwell has been on your hit list for years now! Constant inferences to get inside the other negative heads!
He is only back in the door for ten minutes!
On the other hand, you also suggest clauses in the two players’ contracts which is more likely to be true.
Let’s not overlook the absolute clear facts that thanks to Peter Lawwell, we are THE force in Scottish football and THE club operating in the black! All this despite the continued efforts of the sfa/spfl to cheat Celtic at every opportunity.
How about getting behind everyone at Scotland’s only really big club with some positive journalism for a change?
iuranovic raised level at Celtic jury must still be out on Johnstone tho looks good,a ralston takes quality back down a notch.gg ok but think need better to keep improvement.