Celtic could be losing Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk to Southampton. But that is the last place the pair of them should be considering moving to.
They may fancy themselves in the English Premier League. But head for St Mary’s and they could very well find themselves playing in the Championship.
These days, when a player moves to Celtic Park and performs to a high standard, it is always the case English clubs will come calling.
Forster has been outstanding in the Champions League, and sealed a spot in the England World Cup squad during the summer. So he’ll not be short of admirers.
I know he hasn’t come out and demanded to leave Celtic, but sometimes you need to read between the lines. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s clear he now fancies a move to England or possibly abroad.
However, you’ve got to be careful and make sure you pick the right club, and I’m not so sure Southampton is the right move for him. Make no mistake about it the Saints could find themselves engulfed in a relegation battle this season.
They’ve lost their highly-rated young manager Mauricio Pochettino to Spurs and replaced him with Ronald Koeman. It was a blow but that can happen when a bigger club comes calling. But what there isn’t an excuse for is selling more than half their team at the same time.
The Southampton supporters are up in arms, and rightly so. And to make matters worse, they’ve not reinvested the £90m they’ve banked this summer in the sale of those players.
Southampton were one of the most progressive clubs in the English Premier League last season. But I honestly believe they’ll be lucky to stay in the top flight this term as things stand just now.
When you cash in on players such as Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Ricky Lambert and Calum Chambers, you are sending out a clear message you lack ambition.
That’s it in a nutshell they clearly no longer have the ambition to go on and become even better. So when you consider Virgil van Dijk is one of the top young defenders in Europe, you have to ask yourself why he, like Forster, would want to risk his career on such a move?
He has only spent one season at Celtic Park, and as much as he will obviously earn more money in England, he might be better off staying where he is at the moment. The next few years will be the most important of his career.
He’s got to be aiming to try and break into the Holland squad, and he’ll only do that if he is playing well at a decent level. If he was to go to a side getting thrashed every weekend in England, it isn’t exactly going to help his chances, is it?
Celtic obviously have their own troubles to consider after their Champions League debacle in Warsaw in midweek.
But I would advise both players to think twice before pushing for a move to a club that is only going one way and that is down.
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