It looks like Neil Lennon might have foreseen the player flopping at Parkhead and didn’t want Celtic to sign him in the summer.
Celtic are easy targets right now. In a season where 10IAR was on the line, the Hoops needed everything to go perfectly. Instead, they have made the worst start possible.
Neil Lennon’s side failed to qualify for the Champions League for the third straight season, are already out of the Europa League and the League Cup, and find themselves 11 points behind the Rangers in the Premiership table with their two games in hand being their only saving grace. As a result, the manager’s future is in serious doubt with it looking like only a matter of time before he is shown the exit door.
He doesn’t deserve all of the blame for their failures though. The players’ performances have been disappointing to say the least. And their recruitment team must take a lot of the responsibility as well, having brought in one flop after the other through the years.
One of those flops appears to be Shane Duffy. And recent reports claim that Lennon always had his doubts regarding the Republic of Ireland defender.
In his column in the Daily Record, Journalist Gordon Parks wrote:
"Privately, Lennon had concerns over the arrival of Shane Duffy, he’d done his homework and he knew the limitations of a player who turned slower than the QE2 and may not be the man needed to steady the ship."
More from Celtic FC News
- Celtic handed fresh injury doubt before Feyenoord game
- Celtic’s £40.7 million announcement should scare Rangers
- Brendan Rodgers makes superb claim about returning Celtic player
- BBC pundit makes sensational claim about Celtic hero Kyogo
- Kyogo Furuhashi sends clear message to Celtic doubters
Duffy might have been brought in to add some much needed solidity to the Hoops’ struggling backline but he has had the opposite effect on them. While he might have proven himself in the Premier League at Brighton and Hove Albion, it is pretty clear that he is not suited to Celtic’s style of play.
Playing in a side that keeps the ball most of the time, his passing has been exposed and it often ends up getting the Hoops in trouble. His lack of pace also is a worry whenever the opposition are on the counter.
There are already rumours doing the rounds that the club could send him back in January. And from what we have seen till now, it only makes sense to do so. He is on an incredibly high salary but is not bringing much to the side. Unfortunately, Lennon might have seen it all coming months ago.