16 months, £6 million and three left-backs later, Celtic are still attempting to slap a band-aid over a Kieran Tierney-shaped hole in Neil Lennon’s back line.
Greg Taylor and Diego Laxalt may be solid enough defensively but, going forward, the Uruguayan and Scot lack the attacking verve of the turbo-charged, £25 million Arsenal speedster.
The less said about Boli Bolingoli, meanwhile, the better.
And when Laxalt’s loan spell from AC Milan comes to an end in the summer, Celtic will be forced to dip into the market again for a left-sided defender capable of filling Tierney’s boots.
Finding one, on a rather limited budget, is easier said than done.
But while Taylor, Bolingoli and Laxalt have tried in vain to prove Tierney is replaceable at Parkhead, a defender who was reportedly willing to take a pay cut to join the Glasgow giants in 2019 continues to show the Hoops what they are missing on the other side of the Channel (La Depeche).
“I thought I had a good season with Paris FC (in Ligue 2). I knew I had qualities – I just wanted a chance to show them,” Perraud told the Daily Record last year.
“This summer, Celtic contacted me with a view to a transfer. But Celtic decided to change their mind and that meant I went to Brest instead.”
Brest paid £2.5 million to sign Perraud and, a year-and-a-half later, the Ligue 1 outfit looks destined to make an almighty profit on a quicksilver Frenchman who continues to emerge as one of the most impressive young left-backs in Europe.
Perraud has eight goals and assists in 13 games this season and, according to L’Equipe, is a target for a Lyon side that reached the Champions League semi-finals last season and currently sits second – ahead of PSG – in the table.
Perraud didn’t explain why Celtic “changed their mind” about signing him a year ago. But, if the Hoops could turn back the clock, you’d imagine they would make a different decision.
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