The deal was done. Lorient and Celtic had an agreement for the permanent transfer of Joel Mvuka, but it is now being reported by French media that the move is off after the winger failed his medical.
A medical problem has popped up, and the deal is now in jeopardy. A fee of around £3 million would have been paid for the player, and Celtic desperately need him in the squad, so this could prove to be disastrous for the Hoops.
Mvuka started out at Asane, making 20 appearances for the team in Norway before moving to Bodo/Glimt in the same country. He would then make a big move to Lorient, who were in Ligue 1 at the time, and now features for them in Ligue 2. In all of his appearances this season, he has failed to register a goal or assist.
Terrible news for Celtic - what now?
No one wants to hear that a player has failed a medical, but especially not when the club are in desperate need of him. There have been struggles on the wing this season, with no one seeming to really click, and Mvuka would have been the perfect signing to complement new strikers Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu.
It is yet to be seen whether Celtic have a replacement lined up, but this late in the window, it seems unlikely. The Hoops failed to get many winger targets through the door in January, with Fares Ghedjemis walking away from a move to Glasgow and Demir Redzic instead opting for RB Salzburg.
Some supporters are calling for Celtic to finally put in a bid for Motherwell star Tawanda Maswanhise, who has been in fine form this season. He has so far scored 18 times and gotten two assists in 29 appearances. The club want a similar fee to what the club would be spending on Mvuka, in the region of £3 million, so it could be a move that we will now see sanctioned.
Apparently, it would take a lot for Motherwell to accept the offer though. It is being reported that they are not willing to sell, even if the Parkhead side were to come in for him. Well manager Jens Berthel Askou is determined to keep him at Fir Park.
It would be near impossible for Motherwell to bring in another winger this late in the window with just a few hours to go, so they would likely demand an even larger fee for Maswanhise. Celtic have the money, but there is no doubt that fans could be left fuming if the club pay more than his market value.