At this time of year it is easy to put two and two together to get 222 when it comes to transfer stories but there is much more substance to Celtic’s interest in Mark McKenzie who joined Belgian side Genk today.
The young defender was linked with Celtic during the summer with the issues in central defence already well known.
Four central defenders are needed at most clubs, even though he was barely capable of plying in successive matches Jozo Simunovic was Celtic’s third choice last summer behind Chris Jullien and Kris Ajer. With his injury record Hatem Abd Elhamed was never going to be a regular contender while midfielder Nir Bitton was for emergency use only.
Looking forward a little, as all well run clubs do, this season looked to be Ajer’s final season at the club otherwise it would be a repeat of the Dedryck Boyata situation where a current internationalist was allowed to run down his contract and leave for free.
*opted for
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) January 7, 2021
Work permit issues may have been involved but having identified McKenzie in the summer it shouldn’t have come down to a choice of him or Shane Duffy on loan. In a season of such significance surely both could have been brought in.
With so many games to be squeezed in Jullien has missed more games than he has played and looks unlikely to surface again before April.
McKenzie’s profile seemed to be ideal for Celtic, he could even have made it all the way to Southampton but as Neil Lennon prepares a defence to face Hibs on Monday it looks like Elhamed or Stephen Welsh will be involved, one apparently homesick and the other now deemed good enough to make the matchday squad of 20 for the last competitive match.
CLICK HERE for McKenzie interview in December about Celtic’s interest.