3. Olivier Giroud
Nick Potts/PA Wire/Press Association ImagesWe're definitely looking at the more shocking of the stories on the list now, and imagining Giroud to Celtic would probably raise the eyebrows of every British football fan. Nevertheless, at the time, this nearly-signing was plausible. It was reported by the
Daily Record in December 2009 that Celtic were in pole position to snatch Giroud for as little as £2.5 million from French Ligue 2 club Tours. The Frenchman was in sensational form and at the time had scored 14 goals in 17 games. To Celtic's misfortune, 7 other clubs were after him too, and probably due to the fact that he had been playing amateur football only 18 months prior to this report, he decided to stay in France and move to Montpellier. It was this stint at Montpellier that saw his stocks rise exponentially as he maintained his deadly form for 2 years, contributing to Montpellier's first ever French top division title, and culminating in a £10 million move to Arsenal. What a bargain at £2.5 million he would have been.