Celtic were previously interested in signing Conor Hourihane before his move to Aston Villa, and perhaps this summer may have been the ideal time to make a fresh bid.
Celtic’s lack of transfer activity during the summer certainly suggests that Brendan Rodgers would not have been disappointed with the squad that he had at his disposal following his brilliant first season at Parkhead.
The Hoops made only a few signings, but based on how they have begun this season, there seems to be very little Brendan Rodgers could have realistically done to have improved his squad with the side still unbeaten domestically since the former Liverpool boss arrived and reaching the group-stages of the Champions League once again.
But perhaps the Hoops should also reflect that they may have missed a golden opportunity to make a signing that would have been the icing on the cake for the squad.
Ultimately, Hourihane would join Aston Villa in January this year, and it seems that the Hoops’ interest may have ended there.
But perhaps the Irishman’s start to life with Villa coupled with some comments made by Steve Bruce back in August should have tempted Celtic to have another go at trying to bring him to Parkhead during the summer.
Hourihane made an underwhelming start following his January move, scoring once and contributing three assists in 17 Championship appearances for the Villans.
Few Villa fans were writing Hourihane off, of course. However, the Daily Star reported comments from Bruce towards the end of the last window where he suggested that the club may have to sell players he would prefer to keep due to Financial Fair Play regulations.
The fact that Hourihane began both of the opening two league games on the bench – only coming on in the latter – certainly hints that he may have been one of the players Bruce may have reluctantly considered selling, so perhaps Celtic may have had some luck had they reignited their interest and made a new bid in the summer.
The reason that the signing – had Celtic made a move and been successful – would have been the icing on the cake is that Hourihane fought his way into the starting lineup with a string of fine performances, scoring five in his first eight league games of the campaign, and will surely now be going nowhere anytime soon.
And had Celtic made a fresh move and benefited from Villa’s apparent need to sell, then the Hoops would have surely elevated the quality within their squad even more.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
