A number of clubs in Britain, including Scottish Premiership champions Celtic, reportedly wanted to sign Red Star Belgrade’s goal machine Richmond Boakye.
It is almost a year since Celtic were linked with a big-money move for Ghana striker Richmond Boakye. And, with the benefit of hindsight, Hoops fans could be breathing a sigh of relief.
The Mail claimed in October 2017 that a number of British clubs, including Celtic, Chelsea, Swansea and Crystal Palace were sending scouts to watch Boakye in action during Red Star Belgrade’s Europa League clash against Arsenal.
And with good reason. Boakye, at the time, was one of the most prolific goal-scorers anywhere in Europe. After joining Red Star in January 2017, he scored 29 goals in 30 games for club and country.
No wonder the Serbian side were demanding £10 million, according to Ghana Soccer Net; a fee that would have made Boakye the most expensive player in Celtic’s history.
But if 2017 was Boakye’s annus mirabilis, 2018 has been precisely the opposite. Rather than Celtic, the former Juventus youngster followed the big bucks to China in February, joining Jiangsu Suning. And it all went wrong.
In 15 Chinese Super League games, Boakye hit the net only three times as his goals dried up dramatically. Six months after arriving, he returned to Red Star for a cut-price fee of just £1 million (Zurnal).
Boakye is one of the most expensive flops since China exploded onto the footballing landscape. Maybe Celtic dodged a very expensive bullet.
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