Celtic signed Scott Sinclair in 2016 after his Premier League career went sour and he has won three Scottish Premiership titles since.
Yannick Bolasie is 30 years of age, he’s spent much of the last few years injured and he looks a shadow of the player who tore full-backs apart in the red and blue of Crystal Palace.
Yes, there’s certainly a few reasons why Celtic should give Everton’s £28 million misfit the swerve. But if you overlook the factors that have ruined Bolasie’s Goodison Park career, you’ll find an explosive attacking talent capable of taking the Scottish game by storm and desperate to rebuild his ailing reputation.
According to Goal, Celtic are interested in handing the Congo international a fresh start. And it’s impossible not to draw comparisons with a fellow left-winger who moved to Glasgow after falling victim to the fickle nature of the modern game; Scott Sinclair.
Two years ago, the former Chelsea and Manchester City forward was celebrating the greatest year of his career. A player who’s rapid rise had plateaued south of the border looked revitalised against admittedly inferior opposition, scoring a career-best 25 goals and winning the SPFA Player of the Year award. Did we mention a domestic treble?
It is not hard to imagine Bolasie, a more explosive player than Sinclair ever was, making a similar impact in green and white.
Neil Lennon’s tactics rely heavily upon individual quality in wide areas and, as Crystal Palace fans will tell you, a 2014 era Bolasie is capable of changing a game on his own with a dazzling run or a pinpoint cross. Quite simply, he makes football fun again.
Like Sinclair, a step back could do Bolasie a world of good. And with the former out of favour under Lennon, there’s certainly a place on the left-hand side ready and waiting for Bolasie’s carefree, almost freestyle approach to a game that is often taken far too seriously and leaves dizzied and dazed full-backs with a nasty case of twisted blood.
According to the Liverpool Echo, there is a £10 million release clause in his Everton contract, a fee that would make him Celtic’s record signing.
But if he can emulate Sinclair’s success with a flurry of goals and a hatful of trophies, £10 million is a small price to pay to prevent a wave of blue crashing through the Glasgow streets. With Rangers gagging for #55 and Celtic looking weaker than at any time since the Ronny Deila reign, this is a move that everyone needs.
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