Simon Ferry has delivered a transfer verdict on three Celtic players as the quietest transfer window ever enters its final stage.
With the outcome of a Managerial Review still not known it’s unlikely that there will be many or any players joining Celtic but an exit or three could be on the cards even though the market is badly supressed.
No one left Celtic last summer which has left the squad bloated in certain areas with the clock ticking down towards four key players being out of contract in June 2022.
Losing a player on a free would be near tragic but when someone is in the final 12 months of their contract there are always concerns about how committed they are.
Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer, Olivier Ntcham and Ryan Christie fall into that category. On previous form they are more likely to be sold this summer than sign a new deal which could bring about some activity this week.
The Dubai trip and the future of Neil Lennon has dominated the headlines so far this month but Ferry thinks that there could be some outgoing traffic before the month ends.
Picking up on the former Celtic youth side midfielder during the Go Radio Football Show, the Daily Record reports him saying:
I don’t think you can sell guys like Edouard in January. The fans are upset as it is and if you sell him there would be uproar. In terms of guys like Rogic, Ntcham, those types of fringe players I would sell them.
Rogic has been a great servant to Celtic but it’s time for a change and these players have had their go. I think this will be the year that guys like them leave. If you can get rid of them in January then I would.
In terms of Edouard, I saw West Ham linked. I don’t think that would be the type of move he would fancy having watched them play I don’t think they would suit his style of play at all. However, if Brendan Rodgers comes in for him at Leicester City then you’d start to ask questions because you’d think Edouard would jump at that.
If he then comes to you and wants to go, what do you do then? You have a problem. In terms of guys like Ajer, I don’t think he will go in January but come the summer I think there will be big clubs in for him and its whether you can keep a hold of these players and whether you want to keep a hold of them.
Because if they want to leave, and ultimately that’s been the problem this year as Neil Lennon came out himself and said.
Do you want guys at the club next year with the same problems? You don’t. I think that’s something that Celtic must have – a squad of players that actually want to be there.
Is it time to move on, sell Eddie and look ahead?
SELL: Yes, it's not happening this season
KEEP: We can't give up on him
For whatever reasons Edouard has been a big disappointment. He was the main goalscorer in the two previous title wins but has only shown in flashes what he can do.
His goals in Prague and Milan reminded us of what he is capable of but it has been too infrequent this season, even allowing for two periods in self isolation. Whether he can make a worthwhile contribution to the remainder of the season is up for debate.
Is the end nigh for this Invinsible?
SELL: The glory days are fast fading
KEEP: There is still a chapter to write
Rogic remains the great enigma, a matchwinner without comparison in the current squad but never a striker as he demonstrated last week at home to Livingston when pushed into that role.
He had a short burst of form in the autumn with a number of assists but those moments are getting less and less frequent after eight years at the club.
There's a player in there- is there?
SELL: It's not going to get any better
KEEP: He still has lots to offer
There have been doubts about the contribution of Ntcham ever since Moussa Dembele left the club in 2018, the form and consistency of his debut season hasn’t been repeated.
‘There’s a player in there’ has regularly been used to describe the Frenchman but with Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull now in front of him its hard to see where he features in the remaining months of the season.
