The 30-year-old left the Scottish Premiership side in the summer, and ultimately ended up joining Blackburn Rovers.
Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew
Charlie Mulgrew has told The Scottish Sun that Celtic’s inability to move their unwanted players on this summer was one of the reasons that he failed to agree fresh terms with the Scottish Premiership side.
The defender was out of contract with the Hoops at the end of last season, but continued to train with the side following Brendan Rodgers’ appointment, The Scottish Sun reports, until he secured a deal with Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
But he explained that he was initially open to the idea of staying at Parkhead, however the chances of reaching an agreement were made slimmer as the Bhoys struggled to reduce their squad numbers before the window shut.
“I’ll be honest, I always thought there was still a chance of something getting done until quite late in the day,” he told The Scottish Sun.
“But the longer it went, the less chance there was – and I knew that.
“The new manager needed defensive cover while it was being discussed and he went out and signed Toure. That made it even more difficult because there were other defenders there – albeit ones who aren’t in the manager’s plans – who weren’t for moving.
“They were taking a wage from the club and, unless they got offered a similar deal elsewhere, they were going to just sit there on the money they were on.”
Both Jozo Simunovic and Efe Ambrose were linked with summer exits, but both men ultimately ended up staying with the club (via BBC Sport), while Saidy Janko’s loan exit only came on the day that Mulgrew agreed his move to Ewood Park.
Perhaps Mulgrew feels that if the trio had moved on – and in Janko’s case, earlier – there would have been scope for him to stay.
While Mulgrew suggests that it was the presence of defenders that prevented a new deal being agreed, it is fair to say that it is in midfield that Rodgers’ squad is arguably the most bloated, and perhaps the number of players who could play in the middle of the park contributed to the failure to agree a deal.
The Scotland international’s versatility would have made him a useful player to have had in the squad this term if they had managed to move several players on and reduce the squad size significantly.
However, Rodgers would be forgiven for taking his injury record into account as talks continued and that may have also been a reason why the two parties failed to reach an agreement, as well as the state of the wage budget.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
