Camilo Duran is a Celtic player, but the real story isn’t the signing itself. It’s the fact it took around three weeks to get the deal over the line. For me, that points to a problem that has existed for years. Celtic eventually get deals done, but the people leading those negotiations simply don’t get them done quickly enough.
We’re now roughly three weeks away from the opening league game, yet the squad still needs strengthening. Once again, Martin O’Neill is preparing for a season while waiting for the recruitment team to catch up.
The concern isn’t whether Celtic eventually complete deals.
It’s the pace at which they complete them.
And that brings the focus onto the men running the club’s day-to-day business.
In my opinion, this is where Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay have serious questions to answer.
How many transfer windows have followed exactly the same pattern?
A target is identified.
Negotiations drag on for weeks.
The fee appears to rise.
Supporters grow frustrated.
Eventually the deal is completed, or Celtic walk away and start again.
After so many windows, it becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss it as bad luck.
Football transfers are complicated. Agents negotiate. Selling clubs hold out for the best price. Every club has obstacles to overcome.
But Celtic seem to face the same obstacles every single window.
That suggests the problem isn’t the market.
It’s the process.
Is the club too rigid over wages?
Are there too many internal approvals before someone can sign off a deal?
Has recruitment become so driven by age profiles, data and resale value that flexibility has disappeared?
Nobody outside Celtic Park knows for certain, but whatever the system is, it isn’t producing quick, decisive transfer business.
During the Duran negotiations, reports suggested the transfer fee rose significantly from the figures first discussed to around £6 million by the time the deal was agreed. Whether every reported figure was accurate is almost beside the point. The longer negotiations continue, the greater the risk that selling clubs strengthen their bargaining position.
Celtic have the money.
Supporters have accepted that investing £5-6 million in top young talent is part of modern football.
The frustration comes when hesitation appears to inflate the price even further.
Being financially responsible has served Celtic well, but there comes a point where caution starts costing money instead of saving it.
Sometimes the cheapest deal is the one you complete first.
Martin O’Neill now has Camilo Duran, and that’s excellent news. Hopefully, he’ll prove to be every bit the player Celtic believe he is.
But this article isn’t really about Duran.
It’s about a recruitment process that, in my opinion, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay have yet to prove they can manage efficiently.
Until Celtic start completing transfers with greater urgency, supporters will continue to ask the same question every summer.
Why does a club with Celtic’s resources always seem to make the hardest part of signing players actually getting the deals done?
