Martin Says Transfers Don’t Depend On Tonight — So Why Does Celtic’s £10m Gineitis Move Apparently Do Exactly That?

This is interesting.

And it becomes even more interesting when you put what Martin O’Neill said yesterday alongside what is now being reported about Celtic’s pursuit of Gvidas Gineitis.

O’Neill was directly asked whether Celtic’s attempts to strengthen before the transfer deadline were dependent on what happens against LASK tonight.

His answer was pretty clear:

“No, I hope that regardless of the result… we would still need to strengthen.”

Martin’s reasoning was simple. Celtic are guaranteed European football regardless of whether that’s the Champions League or Europa League, so the squad requires further additions either way.

I completely agree.

But now we have reports suggesting Celtic’s pursuit of Gineitis might be operating slightly differently.

Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph says that, should tonight’s result go Celtic’s way, Celtic will pursue their interest in the Torino midfielder, who is reportedly valued at around £10million.

Italian transfer reporting is pointing in a similar direction, with Wednesday apparently emerging as an important day in deciding whether Celtic turn their interest into something more concrete.

Now, let’s be fair here.

Nobody is saying Celtic have agreed a deal for Gineitis which gets ripped up if LASK produce the comeback of all comebacks tonight.

That’s not the story.

But there does appear to be a suggestion that Celtic are waiting to discover their Champions League fate before deciding how aggressively they pursue a player at this sort of price point.

And that’s where you’ve lost me a wee bit.

Celtic are 3-0 ahead.

They’re potentially 90 minutes away from banking Champions League money.

But Martin has already publicly acknowledged that Celtic are currently “in the plus” from their transfer dealings and pointed towards players leaving the wage bill.

So why wait?

Arne Engels has gone. O’Neill himself has spoken about losing the running power Engels provided. Celtic need another midfielder regardless of whether Real Madrid or Roma are coming to Celtic Park this season.

If Gineitis is the guy Celtic have identified to replace that, then surely you back your judgement.

That’s actually the fascinating part of Martin’s comments for me.

He’s becoming increasingly comfortable publicly discussing what Celtic still need.

First it was quality over quantity.

Then it was acknowledging Celtic remain financially in the plus.

Now he’s explicitly removing Champions League qualification as a reason not to strengthen.

Maybe Martin is deliberately turning the screw again.

Because if Celtic get through tonight, there really are no excuses left.

And if they don’t?

According to the manager, there shouldn’t be any excuses then either.

Gineitis may or may not ultimately become a Celtic player.

But if Celtic genuinely believe he’s the £10million midfielder capable of improving O’Neill’s team, tonight shouldn’t decide whether they want him.

His ability should.

Keep Your Eyes On The Board.