Kundai Benyu has opened up on his short spell at Celtic which ended with a transfer to Wealdstone after arriving on a ‘Dembele deal’ from Ipswich Town.
Fall outs with Mick McCarthy had banished the midfielder to Aldershot Town in the National League but there was enough talent in there to attract Celtic and some leading English sides.
Celtic had signed Moussa Dembele from Fulham for £500,000 in the summer of 2016 with that deal viewed as the template for young English based players to move north of the border.
While Dembele joined a club that was clearing the deck of Carlton Cole, Colin Kazim-Richards and Nadir Ciftci the new kid from Ipswich was facing a wall of talented midfielders.
Scott Brown, Callum McGregor, Nir Bitton, Tom Rogic and Stuart Armstrong had just delivered the Invincible Treble with Olivier Ntcham added to the mix, Ryan Christie returned to Aberdeen on loan to try and further his chances at Celtic. Scott Allan and Ewan Henderson were also in the first team squad.
Benyu started two early season matches against Kilmarnock and came off the bench against Linfield and Rosenborg in the Champions League qualifiers but with the season up and running his playing time disappeared with a loan deal with Oldham agreed in January
Looking back at his Celtic experience, the midfielder told Football Scotland:
Celtic played Champions League and that was always appealing to me. Brendan actually called me personally which was amazing. Aston Villa, Tottenham, West Ham and all the other clubs just sent representatives but Brendan calling was major for me.
(Later) I wasn’t angry at all but I was really frustrated because I wasn’t given a fair chance. I believe in my ability and I was better than some people but it didn’t matter what I did in training, certain players would still get the nod ahead of me. If I said something, people would say I had a bad attitude, but I just wanted to play and show what I could do.
I have no regrets but a lot was promised that wasn’t delivered. For a young player, the stadium and Champions League potential was so appealing and I did everything and beyond, it just didn’t work out.
I try to be as professional as possible and I did knock on the door because I wanted to play and prove myself.
I went to Celtic not to warm the bench but I understood we had experience and that’s what kept the team winning. It was always difficult not to blame anyone or point fingers at anyone, but in football you also need luck.
While at Celtic Benyu made his international debut for Zimbabwe, after a season at Wealdstone the 24-year-old moved to Icelandic side Vestri earlier this year.
CLICK HERE for Benyu’s Transfermarkt profile
