The Hoops have an uphill battle next season to reclaim the coveted Premiership crown. They are yet to find the successor of Neil Lennon who left the club a month back and according to Record Sport, Celtic have decided not to secure the transfer of highly-rated Thomas Robert until a manager and director of football get appointed.
Thomas, son of former Newcastle United star Laurent Robert, opted for an unusual career path when he left Montpellier last year for the little-known Scottish third-tier outfit Airdrieonians. He chose to grow his game away from the limelight, but a promising stint with the Diamonds drew the attention of Scottish heavyweights including the Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers.
Although the Hoops seemed to be winning the race for the 20-year-old, the conundrum at Parkhead has now jeopardized a move to Celtic Park. He was enjoying a trial at Lennoxtown under youth chief Chris McCart but has now been sent back to Excelsior to continue his development at his parent club.
“He has gone to Celtic, done well and enjoyed it, and worked with players and coaches from a high level in a Champions League level environment. He is going to learn a lot from it, but he just needs to keep doing the work for us and people will come and watch. We want to keep our best players but we won’t stand in their way of an opportunity to progress.”
Revealed the Airdrieonians boss Ian Murray who fielded Robert last weekend in their 1-0 defeat to Peterhead FC.
The young attacker has settled in well since completing the bizarre transfer and is going strong with 4 goals and 2 assists in 15 appearances across competitions [Stats via Transfermarket]. Robert has exhibited enough traits to flourish down the flanks, whereas his flexibility across the frontline would see the big guns moulding him further in the forthcoming future.
Why Celtic Have Made The Correct Call
Celtic, meanwhile, are likely to undergo a structural overhaul to close the gaps with Rangers. John Kennedy is unlikely to grab a permanent status and the club are likely to rope in a high-profile name before clashing heads with their Old Firm rivals. An array of dreadful signings accelerated their downfall and the arrival of a new director of football in place of Nick Hammond should see them revive before it gets too late to recover the losing ground. The decision of stalling over the Frenchman’s future makes absolute sense, however, it is to be seen now whether the others step up the chase and snap him up from under the Bhoys’ nose.
