I’ve not done a Hugh Keevins piece for a while now. Mainly because no one really wants to hear what he has to say about Celtic but sometimes, just sometimes, the journalist comes away with something that cannot be ignored.
Now this time it’s nothing really to do with any insightful knowledge about Celtic or tips about who they may or may not buy or sell this summer because when it comes to up-to-date knowledge about football, Keevins is generally behind the curve.
His knowledge about Celtic’s history is never in question because he is encyclopedic, but in terms of today’s Celtic, Hugh Keevins is a bit behind the times.
As this conversation about Celtic’s pursuit of Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah proved.
Keevins behind the curve about Celtic’s pursuit of Adam Idah
As we all know, Celtic are in negotiations to sign both players and as we also know, the price for both fluctuates. But Celtic, in the main, are trying to barter with Norwich City and Benfica.
We all know that. Well, everyone apart from Keevins. Speaking about Idah, Keevins said (Superscoreboard), “The new management at Norwich is a complication. Because he’s going to say, ‘Hold on a minute, you went up to Scotland and scored important goals that won Celtic the title and then scored the goal that won the cup. I’ll just have a look at first thank you.’
“If I am to believe what I’ve read about Paulo Bernardo, then the money that is expected for him is £6.5m.
“Again, I think that’s a bit on the high side for Paulo Bernardo.”
Keevins on Celtic paying £10m for Adam Idah
After being told that it’s widely known that Celtic are in talks with Benfica to try and reduce that price, Keevins continued, “Okay, but as I say you can’t abandon business principles altogether.
“You’ve got the money, and you can go elsewhere and get somebody but there are times when you are going to be asked for a fee that is unrealistic and excessive.
“And I’ll tell Simon to his face, I don’t think that Adam Idah is a £10m player.”
Neither does Donnelly. In fact, all Donnelly said is that if he was Celtic he would pay £6m or £7m. He only mentioned £10m because he was asked about whether or not he agreed with Chris Sutton’s prediction of how much Celtic may need to pay because of his goalscoring form since January.
For a journalist, the veteran needs to ensure he knows what he’s talking about before giving his opinion on all matters Celtic.
Because, like he did just now, Keevins will sound daft and never be taken seriously be Celtic fans again.