Sky Sports in January reported that Celtic and Manchester United were in talks over a loan deal for United’s midfielder Scott McTominay. The Scotsman was struggling for game time at Old Trafford at that point, and we thought that he would have been a top acquisition for the Bhoys.
However, the opinion among the Celtic fans was more or less divided as many believed that McTominay would struggle to make it into Celtic’s starting lineup. But after his recent performance against Paris Saint Germain, many would feel that Celtic would have been better off signing him in January (file this under duh 101!).
With injuries to first-team midfielders, McTominay has got his chance to shine, and he showed that he could deliver at the biggest of stages as Manchester United caused a major upset by going past Paris Saint Germain midweek. Celtic meanwhile are going through an injury crisis themselves, and Callum McGregor has been a major miss for them in the middle of the park.
Ryan Christie is also unavailable for the time being, and Neil Lennon had to bring in young Ewan Henderson in the starting lineup. There is no doubt that Henderson has done well, but a signing like McTominay would have been a big one for the Hoops in January.
Moreover, after a decent spell at Parkhead maybe McTominay might have been tempted to stay in Glasgow. Given the fact that he wasn’t getting many chances at the Manchester club, the Mancunians might have also been tempted to sell him. But after recent showings especially at a big stage like the Champions League, there is no doubt that the Red Devils would want to keep hold of him.
Callum McGregor attracted some interest in the January window from English club Bournemouth, and we feel that he could again be in demand in the summer with the kind of season he is having. After a lot of speculation, Scott Brown finally signed a new contract with the Hoops but he is already 34.
Eboue Kouassi and Scott Allan have been out of the equation for quite some time, and Celtic might have to look at signing a new central midfielder in the summer. The club needs to go through a major overhaul as a lot of players’ contract are expiring and quite a few of them are on loan. An impressive loan spell for McTominay might have turned his head into move to Glasgow permanently. Celtic missed a great opportunity to lure a top class young midfielder.
