Celtic were right to avoid signing Lys Mousset as he seals £10m Sheffield United move

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Celtic reportedly wanted to sign France U21 ace Lys Mousset before Sheffield United signed him from Premier League rivals AFC Bournemouth.

In a era when £20 million will get you a Championship striker and £50 million a decent Premier League centre-back, Celtic have shown that value does still exist if you’re willing to think outside the box.

Plenty of English clubs had shown a tentative interest in Toulouse’s Christopher Jullien before Celtic snapped up the giant centre-back for £7 million this summer. And who, when searching for a left-back, would think to check out a team who finished seventh in the Austrian Bundesliga last season?

The Hoops did, and £3 million Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo could be one of their most inspired additions in years.

The best signing of the summer, however, could be Luca Connell. The brightest talent to emerge out of Ireland in some time, Celtic fought off competition from a whole host of clubs to snatch the teenager when his Bolton Wanderers contract expired.

So Celtic’s transfer window so far has revolved around spotting under-the-radar talents and signing them for affordable fees.

£10 million for Lys Mousset (Guardian), a far from prolific striker who has an eight-figure price-tag on his head almost purely because of the ‘Premier League premium’, is exactly the sort of overpriced, overrated player Celtic need to avoid – especially with funds at a premium.

According to The Mail (16 May, page 56), The Hoops were interested in signing the France U21 international from Bournemouth. He’d have become their new record signing, despite a dismal record of three goals in 55 league games for The Cherries.

Celtic, quite literally, cannot afford to spend such a substantial fee on a player whose performances since 2016 have failed to live up to expectations. Quite clearly, Sheffield United can with Mousset heading to Bramall Lane instead.

Jullien and Bolingoli-Mbombo should offer plenty of strength and depth to a Celtic backline that looked rather suspect last season while Connell proves that they are looking to the future too. Their transfer business so far looks inspired and why risk all this progress by spending a club-record fee on a striker who far from guarantees goals?

And that is without mentioning Odsonne Edouard, another young French striker who appears to have far more potential.