Celtic had £3m bid accepted and now Aurelio Buta looks like a big miss

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If his control was Messi then the finish was, well, messy. Aurelio Buta did everything right. He drifted intelligently from the flank to the centre. He found a pocket of space inside the penalty area, bamboozling an onrushing Darmstadt defender with a gorgeous first touch.

But, as he lined up the shot, Buta almost seemed to remember where he was. Nosebleed territory. The Eintracht Frankfurt right-back stumbled over the ball, what would have been a sublime solo goal slipping through his grasp.

No matter. The former Portugal youth international still played his part in a 4-2 win which secured Frankfurt’s place in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal, setting up an opener for the rampant Randal Kolo Muani with a flighted cross even Kevin de Bruyne would have been proud of.

After returning from around six months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury, Buta’s impact has far exceeded anything even the most optimistic Frankfurt supporter would have anticipated.

Buta was a stand-out performer once more against Darmstadt, as he has been throughout 2023. Two of his six career goals, meanwhile, have come since the turn of the year.

Former Celtic target Aurelio Buta in outstanding form at Frankfurt

“I’m a bit surprised that he’s playing so consistently at this level after being out for so long,” beams Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner, highlighting Buta’s remarkable athleticism.

“He’s had 40 sprints, most of them against Hertha (Berlin, in a 3-0 win). We noticed that he’s totally euphoric. The lad flies over the training ground. And if someone flies, then you should let him fly.”

How high, you wonder, can Buta fly?

Celtic had a bargain £3 million bid accepted by former employers Royal Antwerp in the summer of 2021, according to the Daily Record, before ending up with Josip Juranovic instead. Some consolation. The crafty Croatian was a key cog in Ange Postecoglou’s all-conquering Hoops machine last season; his eventual switch to Union Berlin earning Celtic a massive profit.

Buta, meanwhile, was linked with a shock move to Real Madrid recently. If he can maintain his supreme post-injury form in the Bundesliga, then Kolo Muani might not be the only Frankfurt star taking pride and place in the gossip columns.