Celtic's £3.5 million flop completes move to Australia

Celtic have been on the receiving end of quite a bit of criticism in recent times for their transfer strategy. The club have mostly stuck making project signings, in hopes that they develop into first-team regulars. More often than not, these moves have not worked out for the Hoops and this summer, it feels like we did see a slight shift in their approach.

Of course, youngsters like Arne Engels, Viljami Sinisalo and Alex Valle were brought in. But at the same time, players approaching their primes, like Auston Trusty and Luke McCowan, and those already proven at Parkhead, like Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo, were signed too.

Celtic making 'project signings' is not a recent phenomenon either. That has been the case for years. One such signing was Patryk Klimala.

The Polish striker was signed from Jagiellonia Bialystok in January of 2020 for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £3.5 million. But things did not work out for him in Glasgow. Klimala did show a willingness to get better, even undergoing an impressive physical transformation. Ultimately, he would leave Celtic about a year-and-a-half later, joining the New York Red Bulls.

Celtic's £3.5 million flop completes move to Australia

Klimala showed some flashes of quality in New York. Then he moved back to Europe, joining Hapoel Be'er Sheva, before returning to Poland. Now, his career has taken an unexpected turn.

As reported by A-Leagues, Klimala has joined Sydney FC on loan from Polish top-flight club Slask Wroclaw. The Sky Blues have a buyout option for the Polish striker at the end of his first season in the A-League.

So, at 26 years of age, Klimala finds himself on loan in Australia, trying to revive his career. It would be safe to say that Celtic got their recruitment wrong when they shelled out a £3.5 million transfer fee to sign him.