Chris Sutton reckons Celtic star could jump ship as 'desperate' European display sparks future transfer worry
Hoops legend wasn’t impressed with their performance against Celta Vigo in the Europa League
Celtic hero Chris Sutton wouldn’t be surprised if star striker Camilo Duran wants a future transfer if their ‘desperate’ Europa League displays continue.
Thursday night’s 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo means the Hoops are yet to get off the mark in the competition and currently sit 35th of 36 in the league phase table. It marked Celtic’s fourth successive defeat on the European stage having previously lost out in the Champions League play-off to LASK Linz and in their Europa League openers against Ferencvaros and Benfica.
Duran, 24, has been Celtic’s standout signing so far having arrived from Qarabag in the summer for around £6m. In Azerbaijan, the Colombian had become accustomed to the Champions League stage and competing at the highest level. Former striker Sutton believes the fact Celtic are no where near this level on the continent is concerning for his future.
Why does Sutton think Duran could jump ship in the future?
In his Daily Record column, he wrote: “Here’s a big question - what decent player is going to want to come to a club that is seemingly happy to be European also-rans at best and whipping boys at worst? Seriously. There has probably been high-fiving and backslapping in the Celtic boardroom about getting the likes of Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh.
“But those players were likely signed with the promise of competing in the Champions League – not propping up the Europa. It’s going to be a harder sell if they are already out of the competition with games to go and looking like a club with very little ambition to do much about it in the future.
“And the same goes for hanging on to their decent players. If a big bid comes in for someone like Duran, why wouldn’t he jump ship if it’s a club that is going places? That might sound harsh, but how else can you view it after Thursday night. It was desperate.”
Celtic disadvantaged by European distraction
Only the champions and Hearts are Scotland’s European representatives this season, as Rangers, Motherwell and Hibs all dropped out in the qualifiers. Sutton reckons the former now have an advantage in the title race without the European distraction - and thinks Celtic are ‘better off’ without Thursday night football if the poor results continue.
He added: “Celtic fans wanted a team that could compete in the Champions League. Instead they have one that keeps getting embarrassed in the second tier. They would have been better off doing a (Rangers boss) Derek McInnes and getting bombed out of Europe altogether.”
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