Celtic's signing of Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur is beginning to feel inevitable.
It may be hard for fans to feel optimistic about Celtic's transfer business, and understandably so. For the second summer on the bounce, the Bhoys' transfer chiefs have stumbled their way through a summer window, failing to take a proactive approach, instead failing to get business done and blaming everything and everyone but themselves.
But with just days to go until the start of the new season, Celtic are finally stepping up their efforts, and they recently added their second new signing in striker Kasper Hogh. The next target is midfielder Mika Baur.
Baur is Celtic's next priority
Celtic have a few different conversations going on over potential signings, but Baur is the most realistic next signing. The Paderborn midfielder has been earmarked as a priority, and reports have suggested the player has requested to leave his current club.
Baur played a key role in Paderborn winning promotion to Bundesliga last season, and the club say they do not need to sell, and that any fee offered for an important player is going to have to be worth it.
That's an understandable stance, and one most clubs who are not under financial pressure to sell are likely to take, but as fans know, there is more to it than a club declaring their stance and standing by it.
If the player wants out, that player can make it very hard for the club. Whether it's putting in a transfer request, not turning up to training or the age-old trick of picking up balls in the middle of sessions and blasting them as far as possible, players can cause trouble within clubs to get their way.
Baur's so-called 'cold is a transfer classic
Baur missed Paderborn's friendly with Southampton on Wednesday due to a 'cold', which is a classic in these transfer sagas. It's the unprovable fib from every angle.
It's a fib that allows clubs to give an excuse that doesn't need validating because, by the next day, Baur can be feeling fine, whereas an injury would require the lie to endure.
A good few years ago, I covered Leicester City for the local paper, and I distinctly remember Harry Maguire missing training, and the club communications chief told us that it was due to 'illness'. Maguire's £80million move to Manchester United came just days after.
There was no illness, only a player doing what he needed to in order to get his move. And hey, who can blame players? We talk about loyalty in football, but clubs show no loyalty. When a club sees decline, they cut players from the team as quickly as they can. Many even block players from reaching appearance bonuses and appearance-triggered contract extensions.
It's for that reason players are well within their rights to force moves that are in the best interests of themselves, their families and their careers.
Of course, we can't say with any certainty whether Baur actually was ill here, but all signs point to a transfer being done in the very near future.
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