Celtic probably could have afforded the big defender, but will Brendan Rodgers regret not going for him?
Former Celtic target Chancel Mbemba sealed a move to Porto on Monday.
The Chronicle reported back in May that Celtic, linked with the 24-year-old in January, were still interested in signing the Congolese centre-back.
However, the former Anderlecht ace has now joined the Portuguese giants and, considering the fee was £5.5 million [The Daily Mail], why didn’t Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers push ahead with the signing?
Rodgers has an abundance of central defenders, but how many are reliable? Kristoffer Ajer and Dedryck Boyata, but the rest are questionable.
Jack Hendry needs a lot of work, Jozo Simunovic is often described as a “bombscare” by the Parkhead faithful, while injury-prone Marvin Compper has played once since arriving in January.
Mbemba, on the other hand, would have been an exceptional signing and considering he only would have cost £5.5 million, you wonder whether Rodgers dropped the ball in a big way.
The former Newcastle United man, who turns 24 in August, is still very young, so impressing in Portugal is likely to cause his profile – and price-tag – to surge over the coming years.
It made sense on a footballing sense for Celtic to sign him, but on a financial level he would have been an outstanding investment and if Hendry, Simunovic and Compper make mistakes during the 2018-19 campaign then the Northern Irish manager ought to be reminded of what he could have had.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
