According to the reports from Sky Sports, Celtic had approached Newcastle United’s winger Christian Atsu to sign him on loan on the deadline day. However, the former Chelsea winger decided to stay put and fight for his place at the Tyneside club. The 28-year-old was also attracting interest from Nottingham Forest, but the move didn’t go through.
Atsu has made 18 appearances in the Premier League this season, but only six has come from the start. Even with all the injuries troubling Steve Bruce’s side, the Ghanaian winger has found it hard to establish himself. But it seems like Atsu is happy with life at St. James’ Park.
Why should Celtic target Atsu in the summer?
The winger’s contract is set to expire in 2021, and we believe that Celtic should return for him in the summer after missing out in January. Celtic have invested in a lot of upcoming and budding players, and we believe that the Hoops should look to add a bit more experience to their squad for the next season.
The club lost two wingers in Scott Sinclair and Lewis Morgan in the January window, but the Hoops didn’t manage to replace them. That should theoretically give the likes of Marian Shved and Daniel Arzani more first-team opportunities. However, both of them are largely inexperienced at the top level, and they might take some time to get going.
Atsu is primarily a left-winger, but he can play on either of the flanks. The 28-year-old was with Chelsea from 2013 to 2017, but he never managed to make an appearance for them as he was being sent around on various loan moves. Atsu managed to play for the likes of Everton, Vitesse Arnhem, Bournemouth and Malaga before finding his feet with Newcastle United.
The African ace’s standout assets are his pace and dribbling skills, and we believe that he would trouble a lot of defenders in the Scottish league. He will be tested physically in the Premiership, but he seems to have enough to deal with it. Moreover, he is quite experienced now, and one can expect him to hit the ground running straight away if a move goes through.
Signing him permanently in the summer could depend on whether the winger is willing to take a wage cut or not? Realistically, Celtic shouldn’t be expected to match what the Magpies are paying for him. It could again come down to Atsu regarding whether he is happier being a backup at Newcastle or playing regular football. We believe that Atsu can be Celtic’s new Scott Sinclair and he can add pace and directness to their attack.
