‘Three or four signings’ McGowan’s incredible Celtic transfer throwaway line

After revealing that Celtic ‘have launched a £3.5m bid’ to sign Luis Palma from ARIS Thessaloniki there was a far more juicier detail in Stephen McGowan’s latest Celtic transfer update.

For almost 20 years the Daily Mail reporter has had a track record of being very close to the heart of Celtic’s transfer activities, regardless of who is sitting in the manager’s chair.

So far in the transfer window Celtic have signed four projects averaging out at around £1.3m each plus Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki to compete for the place vacated in defence by Carl Starfelt.

Going into the transfer window Celtic fans were hopeful of the club signing three players at the level of Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers. When you spend north of £6m you tend to get a far better quality of player than bringing in three at £2m apiece.

With Jota sold and Aaron Mooy retiring there is a clear drop in quality but in the final week of the transfer window the Daily Mail reporter has good news for Celtic fans:

Scouring the market for a wide man to fill the void left by Jota’s £25million move to Saudi Arabia, wages are an obstacle to Celtic moves for Wolves winger Daniel Podence and Newcastle’s Ryan Fraser. Brendan Rodgers hopes to add three or four signings before the window closes at the end of the month.

It almost seems like a throwaway detail after the Palma story but ‘three or four signings’ is bound to intrigue supporters as does the reference to Brendan Rodgers when the Celtic boss has firmly put recruitment matters down as the responsibility of Mark Lawwell.

Interest in Fraser and Podence seems misplaced, surely after one phone call it would become very clear that both players were unaffordable with their wage expectations putting them well out of place in the Celtic dressing room.

Over the last couple of transfer windows Celtic fans have become accustomed to transfer business being completed early, giving arrivals maximum time to adapt to the training and playing demands of a new manager.

Three or four players ready to go straight into the Starting XI would be worth the wait but if they are in the category of Marco Tilio, Odin Thiago Holm, Hyun-Jun Yang and Hyeok-Kyu Kwon fans will wonder what is going on and why the wait until the end of the transfer window.

When Ange Postecoglou arrived at Celtic there was a definite change in transfer policy with an emphasis on older, first team ready signings led by Kyogo Furuhashi, Carl Starfelt, Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Three of them have moved on, two last a season and a half and Starfelt for two years but the only fact that matters is that they contributed hugely to success- delivering two Champions League campaigns.

Moderate profits were returned on three of that signing batch with Kyogo’s goals already visible in season three.

Striking a balance away from an obsession with signing players for under £1m then selling them for £10m plus will have more immediate benefits on the park.

Inbetween Kris Ajer and Jeremie Frimpong there has been some very costly mistakes with Albian Ajeti, Ismaila Soro and James McCarthy all still on the payroll.

On Palma, McGowan revealed:

CELTIC have launched a £3.5million move for coveted Aris Thessaloniki winger Luis Palma.

A Honduran international, the 23-year-old has been heavily linked with rivals Rangers as a replacement for Ryan Kent.

After 16 goals for his current club in Greece, Palma has also attracted strong interest from a number of clubs across Europe, including Watford and Anderlecht.

As a goalscoring left winger Palma looks like a replacement for Jota who moved to Al Ittihad at the start of July but now appears available as a free agent.