Saidy Janko did not make the grade at Celtic or Manchester United but is enjoying life far more in Ligue 1
Saidy Janko looked to have the world at his feet back in 2014. After winning the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award, Manchester United legend tipped the talented teenager for a promising future at Old Trafford.
“Saidy has been fantastic since he came in and looks a bright prospect for the future,” Paul Scholes said in quotes reported by The People Person. “Hopefully he’s on his way to the first team.”
Better players than Janko have failed to make the grade at Manchester United despite initial promise and, sure enough, the Swiss found himself out of the club and on his way to Celtic in the summer of 2015.
However, if Janko was unfortunate at United, he was a major disappointment at Parkhead. Just a few days after a disastrous performance that almost led to Celtic getting knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Janko was farmed out on loan to Barnsley for the season, though injuries limited him to just seven league appearances.
A better shade of green
Somewhat ironically, however, it’s only since Janko left Celtic on a permanent basis that he is starting to justify all the early fuss.
Janko was seen as a little fortunate to earn a move to Europa League regulars St Etienne in the summer, signing a four-year deal with the Ligue 1 club, but his performances have been far more impressive than they ever were at Celtic.
The 21-year-old has started all seven Ligue 1 games so far this season and it’s a testament to his displays that Les Verts have not missed last season’s star man Kevin Malcuit, who left for Lille for around £7.5 million according to Get French Football.
As it stands, St Etienne are fourth in the table, just four points adrift of Champions Monaco in second. Though if only Celtic had managed to coax such stable performances from a player who still has plenty of time to improve.
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