Celtic won’t be in the Champions League this season.
Pundit Andy Walker has told Sky Sports that he feels Celtic have made a real mistake in rejecting a bid from Fulham for Dedryck Boyata, claiming the Bhoys have no use for him anymore.
Celtic may have ended last season with a second successive domestic treble, but their opening to this season has been somewhat inauspicious to say the least.
The Bhoys could only muster a 1-1 draw with AEK Athens in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier last week despite the Greek champions being down to 10 men, and then lost 1-0 to Hearts on Saturday.
Brendan Rodgers’ misery was compounded on Tuesday night as his Celtic side lost 2-1 to AEK in the second leg of their Champions League qualifying tie, meaning the Bhoys won’t be in the group stage this season.
The fall-out of Tuesday’s defeat has been strong; the Celtic board have been slammed for failing to back Rodgers with new signings, Rodgers himself has been criticised over his management in Europe, whilst defender Dedryck Boyata has been made a scapegoat.
The Belgian centre back, 27, may have blown hot-and-cold for Celtic since Ronny Deila signed him from Manchester City in 2015, but he impressed for Belgium at the World Cup, sparking interest from elsewhere.
As reported by the London Evening Standard last week, Celtic rejected a £9million bid from Fulham last week, and with European clubs still keen, Boyata’s future is up in the air – and he missed the trip to Greece, with Rodgers claiming that the defender is fit to play but didn’t return to help his side.
Now, pundit and former Celtic ace Andy Walker has told Sky Sports that the Bhoys have made a terrible error in rejecting that bid from Fulham as they won’t get another offer like that again, and suggested that he is of no use to the Bhoys as he won’t play for his club.
“You have got a big problem with Dedryck Boyata, who has refused to play for the club,” said Walker. “If I was a team-mate of his, you know that you can not trust him. Team spirit is very important and, if you have got someone refusing to play, you have got to get them out the door.
“Clearly, it was a mistake to refuse the £9m from Fulham. Boyata had a decent World Cup [for Belgium]. He can go to a club on the continent, but I am sure it won’t be anything like the £9m Fulham offered. But you have got to get a player who picks and chooses his games out the door, he is absolutely no use to Celtic at all,” he added.
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