Rico Henry proves why Celtic were right not to pay £7m

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Rico Henry struggled badly during Brentford’s 3-1 Championship win at QPR – and Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic won’t be wondering what could’ve been.

Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo has gone from a £3 million scapegoat to an emerging cult hero in the blinking of an eye.

It is almost four months since the former Rapid Vienna left-back joined Celtic to fill the considerable void created by Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal and it’s all been a bit of a roller-coaster so far for Romelu Lukaku’s cousin.

But after settling down, growing in confidence and adding a semblance of defensive discipline to his naturally swashbuckling style, Bolingoli is starting to turn those jeers into cheers.

And in Greg Taylor, the former Kilmarnock youngster who arrived on deadline day, Celtic have another promising young left-back in their ranks with The Hoops managing to turn a problem position into a position of strength.

Taylor and Bolingoli were just two of the left-backs linked with a move to Parkhead over the summer, however, with Rico Henry apparently another on their radar.

According to the Scottish Sun, Celtic were considering a move for the one-time Walsall youngster, who was apparently valued at £7 million – more than Taylor and Bolingoli combined.

But Henry’s performance during Brentford’s 3-1 win at QPR on Monday night did little to suggest that he’d have been a better option for a Celtic side thriving in the post-Tierney era. He was tormented all night by QPR winger Bright Osayi-Samuel, eventually copping a belated booking, while failing to provide any sort of quality at the other end.

One cross was sliced horribly into the stands from an excellent position – a far cry from the sort of pinpoint delivery Bolingoli has provided since he joined Celtic in July.

Henry is capable of far better than this of course and he did play a role as Brentford secured an excellent away win at their high-flying London rivals. But a £7 million left-back? He looked a long way short of that price tag at Loftus Road.