The Duffy delay explained

Despite a mountain of speculation Shane Duffy has still to complete his transfer to Celtic.

Brighton chief Paul Barker virtually signed off on the move with a glowing tribute to the defender with Celtic fans on stand by from mid afternoon for the ‘Welcome Shane’ announcement.

With the player training with the Ireland international squad in Dublin he had other commitments, late on Tuesday night Stephen McGowan provided an explanation for the delay.

There is a lot more involved in international travel at the moment with Ireland having stricter regulations and quarantine rules than most European countries.

With Stephen Kenny’s squad safely in place for tomorrow’s match in Sofia there should be adequate time for the formalities of the move to be completed and announced.

By the time Ireland host Finland on Sunday Duffy should be a signed Celtic player giving him the best part of a week to train with his new team-mates and prepare for Saturday’s match at Ross County.