Re: Celtic Signings - Season 2007/08

1

Do you bhoys reckon the fact he’s chasing Devecchio hard perhaps mean the Appiah deal has floundered? If I recall correctly Strachan gave Lawwell a list for each position. Obviously the priority was to get the number one target for each but if that’s not possible then down the list we go.

Also like the idea of signing another wide player as Aiden’s form suffered after La Money’s departure to Villa. Possibly natural given there was nobody breathing down his neck for a starting place.

We’re also linked with 2 of the Dutch U-21 side who have been extremely impressive in the European Championship. Ritgers, a striker from NAC Breda, and Drenthe, a left back from Feyenoord. The first guy is Sno’s best friend and said it would be a dream to join him at Celtic. The latter is a left back / left midfielder and looks a tidy player who loves to get forward but who also enjoys a tackle and has a bit of dig.

2

I’d say the Appiah thing has passed us by alright and we’ve onto secondary targets.

Those two Dutch guys look quality.

Evening Times article on Strachan’s signings to date:

*Mo Camara

Signed from: Burnley, free

Played: 19 Scored: 0

High: Winning a league championship medal in 2006.

Low: Becoming third-choice left-back behind Ross Wallace and Mark Wilson.

The fans say: Couldn’t cross the road.

Verdict: A fish out of water. Couldn’t defend and wasn’t much better going forward.

*Maciej Zurawski

From: Wisla Krakow, 2m

Played: 51(+12 sub) Scored: 30

High: His four goals in a record 8-1 win over Dunfermline at East End Park.

Low: Losing his place last season which affected his confidence.

The fans say: Good goalscorer.

Verdict: Has shown he can be a big performer when on form.

*Adam Virgo

From: Brighton, 1.5m

Played: 4 (+8 sub) Scored: 0

High: Best game was against Motherwell away, January 06.

Low: Constant injuries which have prevented him from getting fully fit.

The fans say: Out of his depth at Parkhead.

Verdict: Made a bad start and never recovered.

*Paul Telfer

From: Southampton, 200,000

Played: 71 (+2 sub) Scored: 0

High: Making the position his own during his first season at the club.

Low: When Gary Caldwell got a game at right-back ahead of him.

The fans say: Mixed opinion - some liked him and some didn’t.

Verdict: Good value for money.

*Shunsuke Nakamura

From: Reggina, 2.5m

Played: 84 (+4 sub) Scored: 17

High: Scoring the title-winning goal at Kilmarnock last season.

Low: Difficult period when family was back in Japan.

The fans say: The best player at the club - they can’t get enough of him.

Verdict: A fantastic find by Strachan and a top talent.

*Artur Boruc

From: Legia Warsaw, 1m

Played: 91 Scored: 0

High: His penalty save from Manchester United’s Louis Saha to seal a last 16 Euro place.

Low: Perhaps the off-the-field problems he has encountered.

The fans say: The best keeper the club has had for years.

Verdict: A top quality goalkeeper and one of Strachan’s top signings.

*Roy Keane

From: Man United, free

Played: 12 (+1 sub) Scored: 1

High: Finally scoring for his boyhood heroes, against Falkirk.

Low: Debut against Clyde when eliminated from Scottish Cup.

The fans say: Loved him even although it was a short spell at Parkhead.

Verdict: Showed his quality and helped the team to title last year.

*Mark Wilson

From: Dundee Utd, 500,000

Played: 30 (+1 sub) Scored: 0

High: Appearing in Champions League.

Low: The injury problems he encountered last season.

The fans say: Still to prove himself.

Verdict: Has a fight to force his way into the first team.

*Dion Dublin

From: Leicester City, free

Played: 3 (+9 sub) Scored: 2

High: Goal in the CIS League Cup Final win over Dunfermline.

Low: Didn’t play as much as he wanted.

The fans say: What was the point of him being at Hoops?

Verdict: Supposed to be a short-term fix but offered little.

*Jiri Jarosik

From: Chelsea, 2m

Played: 24 (+10 sub) Scored: 5

High: A winning goal against Hearts at Tynecastle in January.

Low: Falling out of favour towards the end of the season.

The fans say: Not convinced - don’t rate him as highly as the manager seems to do.

Verdict: Could leave the club this summer as he’s unlikely to be a regular starter.

*Evander Sno

From: Feyenoord, 250,000

Played: 15 (+13 sub) Scored: 1

High: Picking up man-of-the-match award against AC Milan in the Champions League.

Low: Not seeing as much action as he would have liked.

The fans say: Has potential to be a future star at Parkhead.

Verdict: A good find who could develop into midfield pivot.

*Derek Riordan

From: Hibs, nominal fee

Played: 10 (+11 sub) Scored: 7

High: A cup double against Livingston.

Low: Again, his lack of games - he only played sporadically.

The fans say: Want to see more of him.

Verdict: Has to show more in games, but a regular run of appearances would help.

*Kenny Miller

From: Wolves, free

Played: 27 (+17 sub) Scored: 8

High: His first goal for the Bhoys, and it was against Rangers at Parkhead.

Low: Extended barren spells when he couldn’t find the net.

The fans say: Works hard but doesn’t score enough goals.

Verdict: Could be shipped out this summer to make way for new arrivals.

*Gary Caldwell

From: Hibs, free

Played: 26 (+2 sub) Scored: 0

High: Coming on in Scottish Cup Final and helping Celtic defeat Dunfermline at Hampden.

Low: Dropping out of the team for three months with an ankle injury.

The fans say: Squad player at best.

Verdict: Can fill various positions in defence and midfield.

*Lee Naylor

From: Wolves, 600,000

Played: 46 Scored: 0

High: Best game was at the San Siro against AC Milan.

Low: No England call-up.

The fans say: Finally filled the problem left-back slot.

Verdict: Great value for money.

*Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink

From: PSV Eindhoven, 3.5m

Played: 26 (+4 sub) Scored: 18

High: His performance and goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in Champions League.

Low: Constant injury problems that have dogged his Hoops career.

The fans say: An excellent goalscorer.

Verdict: Looks the part but could still do more during general play.

*Thomas Gravesen

From: Real Madrid, 2m

Played: 23 (+10 sub) Scored: 6

High: Two goals against Old Firm rivals Rangers.

Low: Last game at Ibrox when he was shocking.

The fans say: Another who divides the supporters’ opinion.

Verdict: A major waste of money.

*Steven Pressley

From: Hearts, free

Played: 18 Scored: 2

High: Scoring first goal against Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup.

Low: His last match at Ibrox, when he was also poor.

The fans say: Lack of pace could be a problem.

Verdict: Did a job but could be a squad player this season.

*Mark Brown

From: Caley Thistle, 100,000

Played: 1 Scored: 0

High: Finally making his debut against Hibs.

Low: Losing two goals in a 2-1 defeat in the same game.

The fans say: Decent back-up goalkeeper.

Verdict: Will do a job when Boruc is unavailable.

*Paul Hartley

From: Hearts, 1.1m

Played: 14 Scored: 0

High: Playing the 10 games required to win a championship medal in season just ended.

Low: Not managing to open his goalscoring account last term.

The fans say: Settled in without being spectacular.

Verdict: Will come into his own this season.

3

Donati has been to Glasgow and returned home to decide on whether to make the move or not.

MILAN STAR DONATI IN TALKS WITH CELTIC

Friday June 22,2007
By Gary Keown Have your say(0)

AC MILAN star Massimo Donati has returned to Italy to weigh up his options after holding transfer talks with Celtic.

As revealed by Express Sport, the 2.5million-rated winger and his agent flew into Britain on Wednesday to meet with Hoops officials and go through what is on offer at Parkhead.

Celts chiefs hope the meeting, understood to have been held in London, will keep them at the front of the race for Donati’s signature.

However, there is also interest from Serie A in the 26-year-old winger and it is expected his agent Andrea D’Amico will now seek to determine just how strong that is over the next few days.

Atalanta, Palermo, Sampdoria and Torino have all been linked with moves for Donati this summer, but Parkhead bosses feel the Italian ace’s willingness to travel to Britain for talks suggests he is eager to make the switch to Scotland.

D’Amico has also revealed that Donati spoke to ex-Ranger Rino Gattuso and former Milan team-mate Andriy Shevchenko, now at Chelsea, for advice on relocating to the UK.

Donati signed for Milan in a 10million deal from Atalanta seven years ago, but failed to make the breakthrough at the San Siro and has spent most of his time at the club out on loan.

Celts are also refusing to give up the fight for 3million-rated Sampdoria midfielder Gennaro Delvecchio.

Palermo and Napoli are closing in on the 29-year-old, but no deals have been done as yet.

Delvecchio stated in Express Sport last week just how eager he is to take Celts forward both at home and in Europe.

He said: "If I move to Celtic, I would help them become bigger and stronger and dominate Scottish football.

“Celtic have already shown they can compete in the Champions League, but Ithink I could take them further down that road.”

4

where does this leave McGeady?

5

I’d say it just puts pressure on McGeady to perform. He started last season in brilliant form when Maloney was pushing for his place back. Once Maloney left McGeady’s form seemed to drop off. It also frees up Naka a bit to play inside if required sometimes:

Boruc

Wilson McManus Caldwell Naylor

McGeady Brown Donati

Nakamura

Vennegoor of Hesslink McDonald

It’s an attacking formation but that’s what we need most SPL games anyway.

6

wouldnt have mcmanus near the team & i assume mcdonald is going to be a replacement for someone

7

I’d have McManus ahead of Caldwell or Pressley at the moment anyway. I hope that neither Caldwell or McDonald are first choice starters next season - it was more based on what we have at the moment + Donati.

8

Sul mercato irrompe anche Bobo Vieri: non rester a Bergamo, ha bocciato Roma e Palermo (troppo lontane da Milano), prende in esame Genoa e Parma. LAtalanta litiga con Doni, fa firmare un triennale a Muslimovic e va a caccia dellattaccante argentino Lavezzi. Il Milan incassa soldi freschi da due cessioni allestero: il portiere Abbiati, di rientro dal Toro, giocher nellAtletico Madrid e il centrocampista Donati, tornato dallAtalanta, firmer per quattro anni con il Celtic Glasgow. La Fiorentina continua a prendere giovani: lultimo il centravanti sloveno Tim Matavz, 18 anni, del Nova Gorica.
Alessandro Bocci
22 giugno 2007

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Sport/2007/06_Giugno/22/resistenza_suazo.shtml

That article suggests Donati has signed a 4 year deal with Celtic.

9

Also found this and decided to translate it for your benefit:

Massimo Donati vicinissimo al trasferimento al Celtic, il centrocampista ha dato segnali positivi: “E’ quasi fatta, ma se mi trasferisco lo faccio a titolo definitivo, in una societ chem i stima come il Celtc, che mi darebbe anche la possibilit di giocare in Champions”

Massimo Donati is very close to joining Celtic and the midfielder has given out positive signals: “It’s almost completed but if I move it’s permanent, not on loan, to a club like Celtic which believes in me and would also give me the chance to play in the Champions League.”

He’s a deep lying central midfield player in the mould of Pirlo and not a wide player as has been reported so far. We’re shaping up like this in midfield:

Naka; Brown; Donati; McGeady;

10

Donati has signed - story on front page of site.

11

So is he a defensive holding midfielder in the Lambert or Lennon style? I would have thought Sno would have been a starter in this role next season. Any idea of the wages he will be on? I presume he will have been harder to get onto a highly bonuse orientated contract considering other clubs were in for him. I suspect there will be another signing in the 1-4 million bracket before the season starts. Would like us to sign a class centre half.

12

thepiedpiper wrote:

So is he a defensive holding midfielder in the Lambert or Lennon style? I would have thought Sno would have been a starter in this role next season. Any idea of the wages he will be on? I presume he will have been harder to get onto a highly bonuse orientated contract considering other clubs were in for him. I suspect there will be another signing in the 1-4 million bracket before the season starts. Would like us to sign a class centre half.

He’s meant to be a deep lying player in the Pirlo mould. Apparently he’s got a great range of passing and he sits there and moves the ball around swiftly and sharply. He’s also fond of a tackle by all accounts so I’m very enthused about this signing. There’s no shame in failing to displace Pirlo, Gattuso and the likes and his footballing cv would suggest he’s a very capable player with his record at U-21 level, the fee Milan paid for him and the other clubs chasing him.

I think this signing this signing ties into what Strachan said when Lennon was leaving in that like when Keane left Manchester United you can’t simply get a ready-made replacement. In effect you need to change your team shape and style to compensate for the loss of such a commanding player. I think that’s what we’re doing here too. We’ll have Brown’s drive and vibrancy going forward while Donati conducts matters from a holding role. There’s smashing potential in that midfield and I also think Sno still has a part to play too.

I also believe Strachan is signing players capable of fitting into different formations. With Brown comfortable playing wide right I also see the possibility of Naka playing infield a bit more next season where he can hurt teams even more and I wonder if Strachan will even consider a 4-3-2-1 like that which Milan play for our European games with a midfield of:

Donati; Brown; Appiah/Sno;
Nakamura; McGeady;

I still expect us to go for another midfield player, hopefully Appiah, as I see Jarosik and Gravesen leaving before the start of the season. With Torres or Bellamy to come still and potentially a world class defender too things are really looking up.

13

Rigters has scored again tonight for Holland in the U-21 final and looks a strong, powerful, quick player who can also finish. I’d bid for him if we can sell one of our 9 surplus strikers.

14

thepiedpiper wrote:

So is he a defensive holding midfielder in the Lambert or Lennon style? I would have thought Sno would have been a starter in this role next season. Any idea of the wages he will be on? I presume he will have been harder to get onto a highly bonuse orientated contract considering other clubs were in for him. I suspect there will be another signing in the 1-4 million bracket before the season starts. Would like us to sign a class centre half.

For the centre of the park next season I expect us to have:

Brown Donati
(Hartley) (Sno)

I reckon Gravesen and Jarosik are on their way but even still I’d say those 4 are in pole position. Sno is still young and won’t play the whole season. He probably wasn’t expected to feature in as many games this season - particularly CL games against Milan etc.

No clue what wages Donati will be on but I’d guess it’s something of a big cut from what he was earning at Milan considering he joined them for 10m. Have to be honest and say that I don’t recall ever seeing him play but I have faith in Strachan.

15

he isnt in the first 22 on pro ev - was he on loan last year?

16

He was at Atalanta in real life and in pro evo.

17

Small clip of Donati with Atalanta against Inter. He’s the number 5. Nothing special in this just gives you an idea what type of player he is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVXrfYWq1sQ

18

Tomorrow’s Herald:

Celtic have made the first move to land Maceo Rigters after opening dialogue with NAC Breda over the 23-year-old striker.
The Parkhead club have faxed Breda to confirm their interest in signing Rigters, who finished as top scorer at the recent European Under-21 Championships. Newcastle United have also been strongly linked with him, but Celtic have been the first to make clear their intentions and are leading the chase for Rigters’ signature.

Peter Lawwell, the Parkhead chief executive, has already conducted impressive business by lining up a fee of 1.25m for Craig Beattie’s imminent move to West Bromwich Albion. It is thought that Celtic could also collect a further 500,000 if the Scotland striker is successful with Tony Mowbray’s Coca-Cola Championship outfit.

Part of that income may now be used to lure Rigters to Scotland. The player and his agents met with Breda officials this week where an agreement was struck that he will be allowed to leave for an acceptable fee.

“We’ve had our first approach from Celtic,” Earnie Stewart, Breda’s technical director, confirmed to The Herald. "They sent us a fax to tell us they were interested in Maceo and we’ll see what happens.

“It’s up to Celtic to make the next move and push forward with any negotiations. At the moment, they are the first and only club to have contacted us about Maceo.”
Celtic watched Rigters on several occasions as his four goals helped the Netherlands’ Under-21s retain their crown on home soil.

He had been in dispute with Breda over whether or not a release clause existed within his contract, which still has two years to run, but an agreement was reached on that point. Some reports in Holland have suggested a fee of 500,000 may be enough to secure his transfer.

“We talked to each other and found a way to sort out the contract dispute we had,” added Stewart. “That’s all been done, so if a club wants him they must come directly to us. The club and Maceo now have an agreement that we will not discuss any further details of his contract.”

19

Donati has officially signed. 4 year deal. Press conference tomorrow at 11.

http://www.snspix.com/cgi-bin/FFIG?urn=256990&type=3&pail=pail1&FFAC=WM0000021271
http://www.snspix.com/cgi-bin/FFIG?urn=256987&type=preview&pail=pail48&FFAC=WM0000021271
http://www.snspix.com/cgi-bin/FFIG?urn=256980&type=preview&pail=pail50&FFAC=WM0000021271

20

http://www.fcbarcelonablog.com/fcbarcelonablog/fcbarcelonablog.php/2007/06/29/newcastle_outpace_celtic_for_fc_barcelon

Eidur Gudjohnsen may slip through Celtic’s fingers unless an urgent move is made.

Celtic’s United Kingdom colleagues, Newcastle FC of England have emerged from the back door as favourites, with a sudden reported trip to Barcelona by the Newcastle Manager himself, Sam Allardyce, who has flown in to convince Barcelona to release Eidur to the English Premiership side. In order to ensure Gudjohnsen is secured, Newcastle is offering to buy Barca’s Brazilian midfielder, Edmilson, even though Edmilson is injured and recently underwent surgery by the Barcelona surgical team.
Newcastle will have to offer something within the vicinty of 10.5 Million Euros for FC Barcelona to accept Gudjohnsen’s exit, and Celtic must be prepared to match or to exceed this for the Icelandic star to head northwards toward Scotland. Edmilson may go for around 7 Million Euros, but is not linked to Celtic.
Gudjohnsen has been linked to various English Premiership clubs, most notable of which is Manchester United, and also West Ham along with Portsmouth. The Premiership clubs all wanted Eidur’s power play.

However, inspite of the host of English clubs surrounding Gudjohnsen, Celtic looked like a more attractive club for Eidur, who would have looked good striking for the emerging strong midfield of Celtic. Only few days back, the Scottish giants were more favoured than front runners, Man U to land Gudjohnsen. However, with the latest fast move by the Magpies, Newcastle seem to have powered themselves into pole position to sign the Icelandic star who has already played in the English Premiership before with Bolton and Chelsea FC before coming to Camp Nou to strike for FC Barcelona.
Celtic must respond to the Newcastle offer for Eidur Gudjohnsen.