It's Transfer Deadline Day and it has started with a bang. For Celtic, there is good and bad news that has been announced so far. Leigh Griffiths is currently in Glasgow negotiating with the Celtic board after his club Wolverhampton finally accepted a third bid for the highly rated striker. It is thought that the accepted fee is between £800k and £1 million. However, there is an outgoing player in Joe Ledley, who is negotiating to sign with Crystal Palace. That deal is thought to be near to £700k. Let's delve into the good news first. Griffiths is a player that has experience of playing in the Scottish top flight, and has definitely proved himself as a goal scorer for Hibernian, scoring 28 goals in 42 appearances for Hibernian in his final loan spell last season. He currently has a nice tally for Wolves this season with 12 goals in 26 appearances. So far, the speculation around Griffiths amongst the Celtic fans has been very mixed, with some feeling delighted with the link, and some proclaiming Griffiths to be nothing but an SPL calibre striker. The main concern for Celtic is bringing in a striker that can perform in the Champions League, so considering that Griffiths has never played in Europe or any of the big leagues means that buying him for this reason is taking a chance. On the other hand, Gary Hooper was, at the time, untested in top flight football altogether before he made his way to Parkhead, so there is no reason why this move can't work out. The rather cheap spend of a maximum of £1 million could be considered worth the shot. As of yet there is no news or rumour of any other strikers linked with a late move to Parkhead, so this could well be the only striker we bring in this month. And now the sad news, Joe Ledley is very close to a move to Crystal Palace in a £700k deal. Ledley has been a 'contract rebel' for the past few weeks, and it seems now that he is getting his wish for a move. I recently wrote an article about Ledley, when he was first alleged to be refusing a contract, about how important he is to the team despite not playing or starting very game. Ledley was an excellent player for Celtic, and I considered him to be a very consistent, driven and hard working midfielder, for both attack and defence. He reads the game very well and his hitting his peak, so it goes without say get that Crystal Palace are purchasing a bargain at £700k. Celtic on the other hand, will be rather pleased that the issue has been resolved with a sale rather than Ledley leaving for free. It also seems as if they were preparing for this with the signing of Stefan Johansen. In additional news, it comes as no surprise that Mo Bangura is rumoured to be getting released by Celtic today. The striker has had a 3 season spell at Celtic, including two loan moves to Swedish clubs, in which he has not managed to score for the club. Lennon recently said in an interview that it was not very likely that Mo would be able to break into the team, so this sounds on the money. So Celtic fans, what do you think of Griffiths coming in? Do you think he will be a success in Europe or can he only cut it in domestic football? Will you miss Ledley if his move is finalised? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
As a recent university graduate and a huge supporter of Celtic FC, what better way to use my inevitable free time to write about my favourite football team? I'll cover most things that the supporters are talking about at the moment, which includes things that directly and indirectly involve the club. At times I may also stray into matters concerning English clubs.
