Scottish Premiership title rivals Celtic and Rangers both reportedly wanted to sign Amiens SC’s Ligue 1 striker Moussa Konate during the summer window.
There was a time in late August when it seemed almost inconceivable that Moussa Konate would not end up boarding a flight across the channel to swap Northern France for the centre of Glasgow.
Barely a day went by without either Rangers or Celtic being linked with a striker who had been nothing short of a revelation in his two seasons for Amiens SC in the French top tier.
According to L’Equipe, Rangers were even prepared to make Konate their second most expensive signing ever with Steven Gerrard’s side apparently ready to put £9 million on the table.
Days later, Old Firm rivals Celtic were linked too, via FootMercato, with The Hoops renewing their long-standing interest in a player Brendan Rodgers wanted to sign during his first ever transfer window in charge of Scotland’s dominant force.
But the transfer window slammed shut on September 3 and Konate stayed put.
And, in truth, Celtic and Rangers fans have forgotten all about him with Odsonne Edouard and Alfredo Morelos, not to mention Ryan Christie and Jermain Defoe, scoring goals for fun at the start of the season.
Konate, in contrast, already looks set for a season battling relegation while a genuine title race takes shape in Scotland. His Amiens side are just two points above the relegation zone and the last few weeks haven’t gone to plan from a personal point of view either.
The Senegal international has missed the last six games through injury. And even before that, he started Amiens’ four Ligue 1 matches on the bench with new coach Luka Elsner seemingly not sharing predecessor Christophe Pelissier’s admiration for a striker who scored seven Ligue 1 goals last season.
It already looks like a season of struggle for a man who might have benefited from a timely change of scenery.
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