James McFadden labels Celtic ‘crazy’ for not selling Dedryck Boyata

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Celtic will lose Dedryck Boyata for nothing this summer, having reportedly rejected offers for the Belgian last year.

James McFadden told Sky Sports’ live pre-match coverage of Celtic’s final day win against Hearts (broadcast on 19/5 from 14:30) that the Hoops were crazy to not accept the money on offer for Dedryck Boyata last summer, with the defender’s departure now confirmed.

Boyata has looked to be exit-bound for the last 12 months, with the Belgian out of contract at Parkhead in the coming weeks. And Hertha Berlin confirmed over the weekend that they have agreed a deal with the centre-back.

Celtic have missed out on securing a fee for Boyata. But they had their chance to land a very good amount last summer, with the Daily Mail reporting Fulham saw a £9 million bid rejected and were prepared to offer £12 million before that particular deadline.

Of course, Boyata would stay put and see out his contract. And McFadden has suggested that Celtic made a big mistake not cashing in on the 28-year-old when they had the opportunity.

“It’s crazy” he told Sky Sports. “I think in the summer when they were offered £9 or £10 million, they should have taken it because, for me, it’s a lot of money for Dedryck Boyata, knowing full well that he won’t sign a new contract. He’s going to run his contract down and leave at the end of the season for free. I think that was part of the frustration that Brendan Rodgers had at the start of the season.

“They should have sold him, taken the money. They were bringing Benkovic in anyway as a replacement. It was always going to happen. As soon as they rejected that, he made it so public that he wanted to leave, there was no way back for him there, for me.”

Had Celtic had a feeling that Boyata may ultimately decide to stay and sign a new contract, you could understand their decision to hold onto him. But, from the outside, it did always seem highly unlikely that he would stay.

In fairness to Celtic, Boyata’s form throughout the campaign has largely been impressive and Fulham’s advances came in the latter stages of the window, so the Hoops would have had little time to find a replacement. But with his departure now confirmed, it would not be a surprise if plenty of Hoops supporters agreed with McFadden.