Celtic are reportedly keen on Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe.
Liverpool have been simply sensational in the transfer market in recent years – and not just in terms of the players they’ve brought to the club.
Yes, deals for Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have taken Liverpool from top four contenders to Premier League champions in-waiting, but how they funded those moves has been admirable.
Liverpool have managed to sell a whole host of bit-part players for big money in recent years, with millions raked in for the likes of Christian Benteke, Jerome Sinclair, Joe Allen, Tiago Ilori, Kevin Stewart, Mamadou Sakho, Danny Ward and Dominic Solanke.
One of their best moves of all though was selling winger Jordon Ibe to Bournemouth in 2016, as they offloaded him to the Cherries for a huge £15million.
Only a year earlier, some had been encouraged by Ibe’s displays in pre-season, touting him as a potential future replacement for Raheem Sterling – but Ibe now appears to be a case of unfulfilled potential.
In 78 Premier League games for Bournemouth, Ibe has notched just three goals and seven assists, meaning each goal contribution came at £1.5million – and Bournemouth appear to have had enough.
The Scottish Sun report that Bournemouth aren’t extending Ibe’s £40,000-a-week deal, and Celtic would be interested in signing him on a free transfer due to Neil Lennon’s lon-standing admiration for Ibe.
At 24, there is still time for Ibe to turn things around, and a move to Scotland – where he may play more regular first-team football – may just help him do that.
Yet less than four years on from his £15m Liverpool exit, Ibe looks set to leave for free, with Liverpool’s decision to sell looking better than ever.
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