It is safe to say that Celtic fans have been left frustrated by how slow the club have moved in terms of making signings in the ongoing summer transfer window. It has come to a point where nobody is even sure which players the Hoops are even targeting anymore. Of course, rumours crop up here and there from time to time. But one has to wonder how much genuine interest there is in some of those names.
That being said, there are some players that Celtic clearly hold an interest in. For example, pretty much every outlet covering Scottish football have linked them with a move for Lennon Miller.
Miller is considered a generational talent in Scottish football. It is easy to forget that he is still 18 years of age. He has already captained Motherwell on multiple occasions. So, it is not hard to understand why Celtic might be interested in signing him. But unfortunately, it appears that that move is no longer on the cards.
As reported by Sky Sports, Miller has travelled to Italy to undergo a medical with Udinese. The two clubs are close to finalising an agreement.
'Undergo a medical' - Sky Sports drops news as Celtic transfer saga ends
How much Udinese are set to pay to sign Miller is not clear. But it has been claimed that Motherwell will receive a club record fee, and the deal will also include add-ons and a sell-on clause. It will be more than the £3.25 million Celtic signed David Turnbull for.
Those are not eye-watering numbers by any means though. Further questions will be raised about why Celtic did not make a proper push to sign Miller.
Of course, it is very possible that Miller might have been intent on a move away from Scotland. In that case, there is not much that the Hoops could have done. We have seen plenty of Scottish players head to Italy in recent years and succeed. Scott McTominay is the best player in Serie A right now.
One has to wonder if this will turn out to be a repeat of the John McGinn saga from all those years back. Celtic missing out on a generational Scottish talent only for him to go on and become a superstar somewhere else.
It is clear that Celtic cannot compete with the finances of the top five European leagues. But if the Hoops are struggling to attract the best talent in Scotland, we might be in some trouble.