It seemed that the deal was all in place but two days into the January transfer window Lewis Morgan remains as Saint Mirren player and scored in the 1-1 draw away to Morton this afternoon.
With the Paisley side chasing promotion a key element on any deal was getting the player back on loan for the remainder of the season with life in the top flight worth more than a £300,000 transfer fee.
Since a verbal deal was agreed Celtic have lost Jonny Hayes for the remainder of the season with Patrick Roberts not expected to be back in action till March.
All of a sudden a first team place is opening up to Morgan at Celtic, it’s not unreasonable to think that he could get a dozen games before the end of the season which would be far better for his development than a promotion race with Saint Mirren.
Celtic could offer Saint Mirren a variety of sweeteners to see the deal through. Although Jack Ross’s side have control at the moment they have to be mindful of the players ambitions.
Losing Morgan would be a big blow to their promotion hopes but the arrival of Mark Hill or possibly Jack Aitchison on loan would give the club a boost.
The injury to Hayes is unfortunate but as time passes it looks more likely that the Scotland u-21 winger will be joining his new team-mates in Dubai next week leaving Saint Mirren to adapt to life without their star man.
