Over the years, Celtic have made a lot of great signings, recognising talents early on in their careers and helping them develop into top players. Names like Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama and several others come to mind in this respect. But the list of players that the club have missed out on is equally intriguing.
They missed out on John McGinn because they let things drag on for too long. They were also believed to have been on the verge of signing Ivan Toney. Sacha Boey of Bayern Munich and Malick Thiaw of AC Milan are two more examples of players Celtic were linked with but did not sign.
Another name that belongs on that list is Antoine Semenyo. Back then, with Kyogo and Giorgos Giakoumakis at the club, many had questioned whether the Ghana international was even needed at Celtic Park. A few years on, and it is pretty clear that the Hoops made a mistake not signing him.
Semenyo was at Bristol City in the Championship when Celtic were linked with him. He would eventually end up joining Bournemouth for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £10.5 million. And now, he could be set to join one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Celtic mistake clear as Manchester United hold talks over £70m move
As reported by talkSPORT, Semenyo has held talks with Manchester United over a summer move. It is believed that Bournemouth have a transfer valuation of around £70 million in mind for the 25-year-old. Newcastle United and Liverpool have also been linked.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Semenyo. He is already considered one of the best talents in the Premier League, not playing for one of the traditional Big Six teams.
Bournemouth have been the cherry atop the cake in this Premier League this season and their players are drawing interest left, right and centre. Dean Huijsen is set to join Real Madrid while it looks like Semenyo is on the verge of a big-money move as well. Only if Celtic had signed him all those years back for a fraction of the fee.