Ange Postecoglou handed his first Celtic transfer blow

Ange Postecoglou has enjoyed quite a transfer record since becoming the manager of Celtic. Under his management, the club have brought in players like Kyogo, Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liel Abada, Josip Juranovic, Carl Starfelt and others, most of whom have been able to make a positive impact on the Hoops. And this January, they have started in tremendous fashion as well, signing Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Johnny Kenny.

Now though, it looks like Celtic have been handed their first major transfer blow of the Postecoglou era, as it appears that Riley McGree is headed elsewhere.

It had looked like the move was only a matter of time for Celtic, with Postecoglou’s presence being a big reason behind that. But Middlesbrough have swooped in late with a big offer and McGree could be set to join the Championship side instead.

As tweeted out by Alex Crook, McGree is set to snub a move to Celtic and join Middlesbrough instead:

Ange Postecoglou handed his first Celtic transfer blow

It is safe to say that this will be a blow for Celtic as well as Postecoglou’s plans. The manager knew McGree well and had given him his first call up to the Australian national team, back when he was a teenager.

And while many eyebrows had been raised about the club signing another midfielder, despite bringing in Hatate and Ideguchi already, Postecoglou surely must have had a plan for McGree.

There is no question about his talent and potential, and he had managed to impress while on loan at Birmingham City.

Those displays caught the eyes of clubs around the Championship and although it had looked like Celtic were about to pull off a major transfer coup, a late twist seems to have left them in an unexpected situation. Let’s see what the Hoops do next in the transfer window.