Mika Baur is doing such a good job for Celtic, the media are trying to punt him already…

Over the last day or so, the SMSM are already talking about Celtic making a ‘quick buck’ on Mika Baur next summer.

Throughout what has been a difficult start to the season, the boy has been a shining light.

He has hit the ground running at Celtic Park, and that is the thanks he gets.

The line is in the Daily Record, and I’ll be honest, it made my blood boil.

Here is how they put it, with the headline reading ‘Celtic star attracts £17m transfer interest’:

Celtic could make a quick buck on Mika Baur – with the summer signing already attracting big-money interest from Europe’s top leagues.

The £6.8million capture from Paderborn has hit the ground running at Parkhead, earning rave reviews since swapping the Bundesliga for Glasgow.

Good player, good start, so naturally it’s time to start talking about the price tag.

As if the Celtic board ever needed an excuse to make a quick buck?

The lad is 22, he has four goals already and he has become one of the first names on Martin O’Neill’s team sheet.

He was even called up to the Germany Under-21 squad this month, before an ankle injury against Kilmarnock forced him to withdraw.

O’Neill is still waiting on the scan results.

And before the poor boy has even had them, the papers are telling us who is queuing up to buy him.

According to Sky Sports, the Premier League, Serie A and the Bundesliga are all keeping a watchful eye.

The Record reckons it would take more than £17m to prise him away, and that there is no release clause in his contract.

Which is fine, because he is tied to the club until 2030 and Celtic are under no pressure whatsoever to sell.

Not that this has ever stopped them before.

Make no mistake, the board do not need any encouragement when it comes to the balance sheet.

If their aim is to seriously piss off an already seriously pissed off support, this would go a long way towards it

Think about where the support is at the moment.

Dermot Desmond and Silent Mike have given us a season of drift, and now we are being told to get ready for the next sale.

Sell the one player who has actually lit up Celtic Park this season?

Tell me that wouldn’t cause a riot.

And yet, with the total uncertainty at the club right now, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if it came to pass.

We don’t know if Martin O’Neill will be staying or going, and that is the heart of the problem

The board did discuss at the meeting in Greenock recently that he might be offered a year’s extension to his current deal.

I think at this point, not many Celtic supporters would want that.

And the reality is that it would probably only happen if O’Neill wins the league again.

Then again, that is exactly how this board operates, isn’t it?

Results first, then the paperwork.

Let’s be fair here, the man has won us games, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

But if we’re being honest, most fans would love to see what Baur could do under another, more progressive manager.

A young playmaker with that much energy deserves a coach who builds a team around him.

Not one who is merely hoping he doesn’t get injured.

Speaking of which, O’Neill is now on the hunt for a defensive midfielder after failing to replace Arne Engels in the summer.

Another winger is apparently on the shopping list too.

Which tells you exactly how much the manager wants to weaken his squad in January.

Just because he is doing well, the SMSM now feel the need to punt him

That is how the game works.

A Celtic player has a good month and the rumour mill goes into overdrive.

I said the same yesterday about the way the SMSM talk up every wobble at Celtic Park.

It sells papers, it fills the back pages and it keeps the supporters on edge.

Then again, I guess that is what comes with the territory when there is total uncertainty at the club.

Nobody knows what is coming next summer, so everybody has a guess.

And the guess is usually the same one.

We have no idea whether Martin O’Neill will or won’t be the manager next season.

Therefore, we have no idea whether Mika Baur will still be at the club or not.

That is the part that bothers me most.

Not the headlines, because we have seen them all before.

It is the fact that the one bright spot in a grim few months might not even be here when the next window closes.

And if he does go, you already know what the board will call it.

Smart business.

Don’t they always?

Just leave the lad alone!

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