Rumours have once again resurfaced in France over Celtic’s potential interest in Algerian attacking midfielder Zinedine Ferhat. Celtic were strongly linked with player throughout January but nothing concrete ever materialised with the club initially focusing on Australian international Riley McGree before he turned down the opportunity to play at Paradise for the chance to earn more wages scrapping it out in the Championship with Middlesbrough.
That snub has since proved a positive outcome for Celtic, as much like missing out on Eddie Howe proved the best moment of the summer as we ended up getting Ange Postecoglou in, McGree’s decision led to us picking up Matt O’Reilly from MK Dons, who has already proven to be an unbelievable find and truth be told he probably isn’t even 100% fit yet.
Media outlets in France claim that the current cinch Premiership leaders are one of a number of clubs interested in the the Nimes playmaker, who is entering the final six months of his contract with the Ligue 2 outfit.
French footballing website footmercato believes that manager Ange Postecoglou wants to bring Ferhat to Glasgow and that an offer to join on a pre-contract agreement has been made by the Australian for the 28-year-old. Ferhat has been desperate to leave Nimes after their relegation from Ligue 1 last season.
The Algerian attempted to force a move in the January window after refusing to train with the rest of the squad or play in Ligue 2. Having failed to find a new club, the playmaker will now see out his contract before leaving in the summer.
However with previous manager Pascal Plancque having recently departed the club, leading to Nicolas Usaï being installed as his replacement, the new manager hasn’t ruled out giving the outcast midfielder another chance in his team following his arrival despite the ongoing rumours.
When asked about Ferhat’s future at Nimes, he told objectifgard he would hold talks with the player next week.
He said: “The ball is in the player’s court The important thing in these cases is to be transparent and honest.”
If I’m to be totally honest I think this one is a bit of a red herring. We have been linked with this player on multiple occasions during the past few months but I have never fully been on board that there is something in these rumours. To me he just doesn’t fit the bill of an Ange Postecoglou type target.
Our manager has consistently told us that when he looks at potential new recruits one of the main factors in whether he pursues him is the players personality and attitude. We can clearly see the type of character he looks for in our current squad. Players with positive attitudes who are willing to work hard for their manager and their teammates and give everything for the club.
Zinedine Ferhat has been refusing to train or play with his current team as he made it clear he wants a move out of the club and he’s not happy with having to play in Ligue 2 since Nimes relegation last season. Does this sound like the type of character that Ange Postecoglou pursues? I can’t see it. Our current squad has a fantastic bond and I doubt our manager would be willing to introduce someone who has a history of throwing his toys out of the pram or showing a tendency to be selfish when things don’t go his way.
I also fail to see where he fits into the squad. He predominantly plays either on the right wing or in the attacking midfield role. On the right we already have Liel Abada and James Forrest while in the attacking midfield position we have Tom Rogic, David Turnbull and Matt O’Reilly all vying for the one spot.
I get the feeling this may be a case of the players agent mentioning Celtic’s involvement to try and spark interest in his client. Don’t be surprised however when the player signs for someone else and the MSM splash their ‘Celtic snubbed’ headline over their back pages. It’s a certainty.
Conall McGinty
