Celtic signed the 19-year-old this week from the Championship.
Davie Hay has told The Glasgow Evening Times that Celtic new boy Kundai Benyu would be an “absolute bargain” if he proves half as influential as Moussa Dembele was last season.
Celtic edged out competition from some pretty stellar clubs – including Tottenham Hotspur – to sign the 19-year-old midfielder, who joins on a four-year contract.
He arrives from Championship club Ipswich Town, who will be entitled to a minimal compensation fee, exploiting the same cross-border contract rule which saw Dembele join Celtic from Fulham for just £500,000 last summer.
The French hitman went on to score 30 goals in all competitions for the Hoops last season, and Hay says that if Benyu is anywhere near as good then manager Brendan Rodgers has pulled off another exceptional bit of business.
“I must confess, like probably 99% of Celtic supporters, I know little about the latest arrival into Brendan Rodgers’ squad, 19-year-old Kundai Benyu from Ipswich,” he told The GET.
“But if he proves to be half as good as the last player that Celtic sourced from that level, then he will have been an absolute bargain.”
Of course, it’s great for Celtic if Benyu proves to be another steal, but fans of the Scottish Premiership champions should not expect a Dembele-type bargain every time that the Northern Irish manager exploits the cross-border contract rule.
The fact is that Dembele was already a lot more established in the Championship than Benyu is and although he might well prove a good signing, supporters should not expect him to hit the ground running like the ex-Fulham man did last term.
Celtic fans
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