Celtic are reported to have missed out on signing Paulos Abraham with the Swedish striker joining Groningen instead.
Transfer activity during the January window was very light with the Dutch side agreeing a fee of just over £200,000 for the 18-year-old from AIK.
With uncertainty over Brexit regulations, the impact of a continued Lockdown and a managerial review it seems that recruitment has been put on hold with so many variables and unknowns.
During the summer 2019 Jeremie Frimpong was brought in and later sold for £11m but Luca Connell, Jonathan Afolabi and Lee O’Connor haven’t made any in-roads towards the Celtic first team.
Revealing interest in Abraham, Swedish TV pundit Patrick Ekwall explained during a Q and A with Swedish website Football Direct:
Paulos Abraham was ready for Groningen yesterday. How do you view that and that he cost 25 million, and that he is said to have rejected Celtic?
I do not know if and why he rejected Celtic, but I think Groningen is a better career choice for Abraham. Being so young is thrown into the hard pressure that surrounds Celtic can quickly end badly. Then Groningen and Eredivisie offer a little more security.
It is, by the way, an extremely good deal in these times for a player who never really got it loose last year. There is great potential but it is always difficult to sell without proven success. AIK will not receive 25 million in the account, because the money will be distributed in part, but there are still a number of much-needed millions in.
During the 2020 season Abraham scored three goals from 26 appearances totalling 1950 according to Soccerway. In 2013 Celtic signed Virgil van Dijk from Groningen, two years later he was sold to Southampton.
