If money was no object, many Celtic supporters would drive down to South Wales themselves, load Andre Ayew’s luggage into the boot and chauffeur the former Marseille star to the green half of Glasgow.
Unfortunately, even before the pandemic was holding the transfer market in a vice-like grip, one of the biggest clubs in Britain was watching the pennies with a hawk-like focus.
The days of Celtic or Rangers signing established, elite-level footballers on wince-inducing contracts are long gone.
And while Ayew may be available on a free – his Swansea City contract expiring three years after he became the club’s £18 million record signing – those staggering £80,000-a-week wages cast plenty of doubt on reports linking the 92-cap Ghana international with a summer switch to Celtic (Ghana Soccer Net).
Is Andre Ayew too expensive for Celtic?
According to Football League FC, the current highest earner in Celtic’s squad is Tom Rogic, the Aussie playmaker who takes home £25,000 a week.
Ayew, on his Swansea wages, would match Rogic’s weekly pay packet by early Wednesday morning.
Furthermore, at 31 the gifted attacking-midfielder isn’t exactly a typical Celtic signing.
Of course, there’s still a chance Ayew would be willing to take a sizeable pay cut to join a club that will be playing in Europe next term while – in theory at least – challenging for silverware.
Celtic, meanwhile, may be willing to make room in the budget for a player who has hit the net 35 times in the past two seasons, especially with talisman and top scorer Odsonne Edouard on the verge of a move to Leicester City.
For now, however, the Celtic fans certainly aren’t holding their breath on Ayew’s arrival.
Here’s what some Hoops fans on Twitter had to say about the situation:
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