Greek website Gazzetta recently claimed that Celtic could move in for former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure for a short term deal after he was let go by Olympiacos not too long ago. More fuel was added to the rumours when Kolo Toure, who works as a technical assistant at Parkhead was asked whether there is a chance his brother could make a move to Glasgow and the former Celtic defender said, ” Why not?” (The Scottish Sun)
However, latest reports from Sky Sports as cited by the Scottish Sun indicates that Celtic are not looking to do any deal at the moment for the veteran midfielder. It remains to be seen what would transpire in the next few days as one cannot be sure which reports are trustworthy at the moment.
We feel that Toure is past his prime and getting him into Celtic Park even on a short term deal would be a mistake. To go with that, we believe his wage demands would be massive and Celtic would be better off using that money somewhere else.
It’s not that Celtic have an inexperienced squad and they need a stalwart figure in the dressing room. For that, they have their captain Scott Brown and quite a few other players have been part of this Celtic’s domination in the Scottish Premiership.
Toure saw his best years come with Manchester City where he was a dominating figure in midfield. At his prime, there was probably no one who could have stopped his marauding runs. The midfielder could play in various roles in midfield and was a major asset for his side. However, he was often blamed for not giving his everything on some occasions and sometimes his work rate was less than ideal.
Given the kind of tight title race we have on our hands, Rodgers cannot afford to have a luxury player in midfield who would only turn up at his own will. The manager needs players who would give everything on the pitch everytime they step across that line.
Some might argue that given his enormous experience and natural ability, he would come in handy. But there is a reason why his contract was terminated with the Greek outfit in December as he failed to make much of an impact. Therefore if its true (the Hoops being not interested in Toure), we think the club hierarchy and Rodgers are making the right call here.
