Celtic miss out on 'cast iron' transfer certainty as rumoured target joins ex Hoops star at new club
Premiership rival has completed move to the EFL Championship
Former Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday isn’t surprised that his old teammate Elijah Just has left Fir Park for £5m - but is bewildered that he’s going to Swansea City and not Celtic.
The 26-year old had an impressive breakout season in the Scottish Premiership, then followed that up with a prolific World Cup, scoring three goals in three games for New Zealand. Celtic had expressed an interest in the attacking midfielder towards the end of last season but the Swans have now beaten them to it, as Motherwell rake in a club record fee.
The Welsh side clearly had eyes on the over-achieving Motherwell side of last season as they also enlisted former Hoops man Stephen Welsh, who impressed during North Lanarkshire loan spell. Upon his return, Celtic terminated the contract of the defender early as a gesture of goodwill, having represented the club for over a decade. This allowed him to find another club where he’d be guaranteed first team football.
Halliday shocked Celtic fumbled ‘cast iron’ transfer target
The former Rangers and Hearts man made no secret that he was one of Just’s biggest fans last season and often jokingly played down his achievements while on various punditry duties to keep transfer interest to a minimum. Now that the move to Swansea is finalised, Halliday claims both he and ex Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou were surprised it wasn’t Celtic instead.
Speaking on BBC Sounds’ Scottish Football Podcast, he said: “It was never a case of, ‘will he (Just) be a Motherwell player next year?’ It was always about ‘how much is he going to leave for?’ Such was the season he had last year. I think when you back that up with a brace in the first game of the World Cup and a couple of good performances to follow that. It was excellent for Motherwell’s case because he always going to leave.
“It only surprises where it is. I thought it was almost a cast-iron certainty that he would remain in Scotland and sign for Celtic. I really did. Probably along with the manager, it's got to be said as well. So I'm surprised that he's going down to Swansea. Obviously, a big club. Stephen Welsh was another player at Motherwell have lost from last year. He's at Swansea as well which is good.”
What have Celtic missed out on by not signing Elijah Just?
He continued: “He’s such a fantastic player. Someone that I think, even as a neutral, you love to watch. Someone that we don't see a lot of in Scottish football. Not big, not powerful, not ultimately that quick either. Just a pure technician. Extremely clever football player. I think he's going to be a huge loss because I think a lot of the success that Motherwell had last year, I think he was the catalyst for a lot of it.”
Just helped Motherwell reach fourth place in the Premiership in a side that received endless plaudits for their no-fear possession-based style of play. Upon leaving leaving Lanarkshire, he took to Instagram to say: “It’s hard to put into word how much this club means to me. Thank you Motherwell FC.”