Celtic, for what felt like the first time in living memory, have managed to go through an entire summer without losing a single star man. Kyogo Furuashi, Liel Abada, Callum McGregor all stayed, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Daizen Maeda and the mercurial Jota turned their long deals into permanent moves.
But we already know the identity of one player who is all-but certain to be leaving Parkhead when the transfer window opens at the end of the current campaign.
“Oliver Abildgaard has a two-year contract with (Rubin Kazan),” the Russian club’s sporting director, Oleg Yarovinsky, says of the Denmark international who joined the Hoops on a short-term basis on deadline day.
“For the season, he goes to Celtic.
“A loan often implies various options and obligations to the club from which they are loaned. But, in fact, this is a lease for a year. After that, he will return to us. Then we will be able to consider more profitable offers for his sale than we could get now.”
Celtic must already plan for life after Oliver Abildgaard
Abildgaard does not have a purchase clause in his contract. He is merely passing through; a short-term solution to Ange Postecoglou’s defensive midfield problem. A problem created by Nir Bitton’s departure and Yosuke Ideguchi’s ongoing injury nightmare.
So don’t be surprised if Jani Atanasov’s name returns to the Glasgow gossip columns. Abildgaard will need to be replaced just ten months’ time. And, by the time July 2023 rolls around, Atanasov – linked with Celtic via Sky Sports – will be available for free, his contract at Czech outfit Hajduk Split due to expire.
The North Macedonia international, like Abildgaard, is a 6ft-something powerhouse of a defensive midfielder. A man who covers the ground effortlessly with his rangy stride, but is also more than useful contributor to the build-up play. In short, a player well-suited to Postecoglou’s free-flowing style.
According to reports from Serbia, Hajduk won’t stand in Atanasov’s way should Celtic renew their interest. The 22-year-old has lost his place in the starting XI. A contract extension, meanwhile, is far from guaranteed.
Perhaps this is why Celtic opted for Abildgaard over Atanasov on deadline day; in the knowledge that the latter can be snapped up for absolutely nothing by the time the former is bidding farewell.
How does that old phrase go? Fail to prepare, prepare to fail? Abildgaard may be right at the beginning of his Celtic career but, with every day that passes, he gets one day closer to the exit.
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