One of the biggest transfer deadlines of the year was the Celtic hunting saga looking for a new striker. The Scottish Premiership champion was looking for a ninth nine to replace Adam Ida, who completed his move to Swansea.
Brendan Rogers’ side already brought in 25-year-old Yin Yamada and 20-year-old Callum Osmand, but they still wanted another striker.
In their search, they took them from things like Anderlecht’s Kasper Dolberg, who preferred Ajax, to David Fofana of Chelsea who prefers Charlton Athletic, and finally Kelechi Iheanacho.
The entire saga has sparked criticism from media and fans, but it was Chelsea’s Fofana’s failed approach that attracted the most criticism from former Rangers and Scottish striker Ally McCoist.
McCoist stumbled over Fofana’s decision
On Talksport with Jeff Stelling, the pair discussed the difficult transfer windows of Celtic and other Scottish clubs.
Stelling said: “Looking at Celtic, they never brought strikers. They tried. But David Fofana, who is in Chelsea, chose to lend him to Charlton instead of going to Celtic.”
He then began to ask McCoist: “Is this about perceptions of Scottish football?
McCoist replied: “It has to be both elements, right? But you’re not sitting there saying that Charlton Athletics pays more wages than Celtics?
On the other side of Glasgow, the Rangers also had difficult windows as they were unhappy with fans selling more than they had spent in the season’s horrifying start.
Why Fofana wanted Charlton from Celtic
Celtic offers a higher wage on average than Charlton. Charlton’s highest-paid player Alan Campbell will become Celtic’s co-5th highest-paid player, but the decline in wages becomes even more apparent when Charlton’s third-highest-paid player Connor Coventry becomes Celtic’s 18th highest-paid player.
However, since Fofana’s attempt at a move to Charlton was a loan move, he would still be £30,000 a week Chelsea paid him.
Another factor that could have been considered for Fofana is that both clubs are based in London, so if he ends up playing for Charlton, he likely won’t have to move around the house. However, this quality of life factor probably applies only to fofana, not other failed pursuits.
Scottish football perception may have been a greater factor in Fofana’s decision, as the Championship is seventh and the Scottish Premiership ranks 27th in the global football rankings.
