The true cost of Jakob Breum emerges

The attacking midfielder was branded as a winger when Celtic showed interest in him last summer with a fee of £4.5m quoted.

After an opening bid of £1.5m was raised to £2.5m with add-ons Go Ahead Eagles gave up on negotiations.

Soon after crashing out of the Champions League Celtic decided to spend £10m on Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti.

Over the season Balikwisha and Tounekti scored five goals. Two of them in the SPFL. Balikwisha wasn’t seen after an underwhelming display against Auchinleck Talbot in January.

JAKOB BREUM- THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY?

With two years left on his contract Breum continued to develop and impress with Go Ahead. In total he scored six goals and had six assists to his credit in the Eredivisie from 28 appearances.

The previous season he scored 10 goals with 5 assists.

At the end of May Stephen McGowan of the Herald claimed that Celtic had revived their interest in Breum.

On Saturday l’Equipe reported:

AS Saint-Étienne has secured its new number 10: Jakob Breum.

The 22-year-old Dane signed a contract on Friday until 2030 with Les Verts, managed by Ian Cathro. “Jakob fits the profile we were looking for to strengthen our attacking options. Namely: a player capable of making a difference in the final third and being decisive,”  said sporting director Loïc Perrin in the club’s press release. “  

The technical passing and ball-handling skills he has demonstrated over the past three seasons align perfectly with Ian Cathro’s playing philosophy.”  He will wear the number 10. The transfer fee is estimated at over €3 million.

Despite being in League II St Etienne had faith in Breum and the judgement of their manager.

Breum will wear the number 10 for St Etienne, a shirt previously worn by Michel Platini and Lubo Moravcik.

It could well be that Martin O’Neill has no interest in Breum or a player with his profile.

Virtually nothing is known about Celtic’s tactical intentions for the new season other than O’Neill is looking to tweak the way that the team plays.

So far, one day before the opening pre-season friendly there has been no additions to the Celtic squad.

On Saturday the club announced that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had signed a new 12 month contract. There has been no word on deals for Marcelo Saracchi or Kelechi Iheanacho who were more involved in the end of season successes than Oxlade-Chamberlain.

CLICK HERE for Breum Transfermarkt profile.