Late move for Soro – Why Michael Nicholson held firm on financial demands

‘UPDATE: A loan deal to Fortuna Sittard for Celtic midfielder Ismaila Soro looks unlikely after negotiations stalled. It’s understood the two clubs could not agree on a fee for the option-to-buy clause.’

Celtic have been taking a strong stance when it comes to the costly recruitment errors now being rarely used by Ange Postecoglou.

Vasilis Barkas looked well on his way to Sheffield United, however it was alleged that deal broke down due to Celtic’s financial demands and it appears the same has happened for Soro, a player signed for £2m and one with a further two and a half years left on his contract.

On the face of it, this looks a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face, however for Michael Nicholson it’s a delicate balancing act.

Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson (centre) Photo: Jeff Holmes

Celtic have a reputation of holding out for the best deal, as we saw with Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie at the end of the summer window, and to show a sign of changing tack now for Soro could lead to further lowball offers in the future.

This stance from the club certainly ensures clubs approaching Celtic know our players won’t come cheap, and with other markets across the world still open for business, there is still an opportunity Ismaila Soro could move on, despite our transfer window closing last night. However, it remains a gamble, as Soro is unlikely to see a lot of gametime and the player may have been keen to go, and as such may be somewhat deflated to see the deal break down.

It will be interesting to see how this one develops over the next few weeks; one thing is certain though Celtic are sending out a message they will walk away from deals if their value of a player isn’t met.