Copenhagen star Peter Ankersen was linked with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic – now he’s heading to Serie A with Genoa.
The transfer window is shut and Celtic will be praying that their squad is good enough to not only lift a ninth successive Scottish Premiership title but to have a respectable crack at the Europa League too.
There was so much focus on whether The Hoops would reinforce their vulnerable backline before September 3rd, but by the 11pm deadline, Neil Lennon could pour himself a celebratory, and well-deserved, drink.
After a prolonged transfer saga, Greg Taylor has arrived from Kilmarnock to step into Kieran Tierney’s shoes while Jeremy Frimpong arrived from Manchester City to strengthen the opposite flank.
The young Dutchman has signed for what is expected to be a minimal fee and he will now fight for a place in Lennon’s XI with Hatem Abd Elhamed and loanee Moritz Bauer.
But if there is one nagging concern, it surrounds one Peter Ankersen. A 25-time Denmark international who won three league titles with Copenhagen, Ankersen appeared to have not only the quality but the CV to back it up amid claims from The Mail (13 August, page 78) that The Hoops were interested.
At 28, he is entering his peak years too.
On deadline day, however, the former Rosenborg and Red Bull Salzburg right-back sealed a move to Serie A outfit Genoa. The Guardian believes that he cost as little as £1.8 million – a fee that Celtic would have had no trouble affording.
Perhaps Abd Elhamed and Bauer will prove to be inspired additions while Frimpong highlights the kind of potential that earned him a place in Manchester City’s much-admired academy. But in Ankersen, Celtic might just have missed out on a player who looked like the perfect signing for a number of reasons.
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