Scottish Premiership champions Celtic paid £2m for Ukrainian international Maryan Shved.
Celtic played St Gallen twice on Tuesday and it’s fair to say the two games went rather differently.
Leigh Griffiths fired home four and Karamoko Dembele underlined his wonderkid status with a stunning, curling finish as a ‘Celtic XI’ thumped the Swiss side’s U21s 9-1 early in the day.
But the main course, a match against St Gallen’s first team, was more feisty than fun. A tense pre-season clash in Switzerland ended goalless with Odsonne Edouard seeing a penalty saved and Jozo Simunovic sent off after a VAR review for a stray high boot.
And for all the Celtic fans who are expressing concerns about Maryan Shved after just two friendly games, they should perhaps give some thought to the fact that Moussa Dembele was written off by the masses before proving to be one of the club’s best signings of the last 10 years.
The Ukrainian international officially became a Celtic player for £2 million in January (Scottish Sun) and, with 15 goals in 26 games to his name for Karpaty Lviv last season, a player with a penchant for long-range rockets could be a real fans’ favourite when he adapts to life in the green and white.
While some expected more from Shved already, others are seeing plenty of reasons to feel positive.
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