Scott McKenna is worth nowhere near £10 million; Celtic can’t possibly make that gamble.
It’s looking increasingly probable that Celtic sign a centre-back before the transfer window shuts.
According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic have had a £3.5 million bid knocked back by Aberdeen for Scott McKenna. Meanwhile, Bild in Germany report that Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers is a fan of Wolfsburg defender Jeffrey Bruma, who is valued at around £7 million.
Signing both seems unlikely. It’d have to be one or the other and, well, it’s a no-brainer if Rodgers has the choice between both.
The Daily Record have previously reported that McKenna is worth around £10 million, meaning Rodgers would have to break Celtic’s transfer record for a second time this summer.
The Northern Irishman has already made Odsonne Edouard the Bhoys’ most expensive transfer of all time following his £8 million move from Paris Saint-Germain, but is McKenna worth it? In a word, no – not yet anyway.
Despite having four caps for Scotland, this is a player who has only made 33 Premiership appearances for Aberdeen. The 21-year-old might seem like the next big thing in Scottish football as far as promising defenders go, but wasn’t that the case for Jack Hendry back in January?
Rodgers need only look at Hendry’s lack of progression since joining Celtic to know that no player is guaranteed to fulfill their potential, and yet is the former Liverpool manager really going to spend an eight-figure sum on a player who could be brilliant in the coming years?
It’s a massive risk and for now Bruma – who has 25 caps for the Netherlands – is simply a much better and cheaper signing, if that £7 million price tag is accurate.
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