£650,000 signing perhaps Celtic worst ever transfer deal | OneFootball

Back in the summer of 1990 Celtic manager Billy McNeill splashed some cash and brought in three new arrivals, John Collins, Charlie Nicholas and Martin Hayes…

John Collins, Charlie Nicholas and Martin Hayes sign for Celtic. Photo The Celtic Wiki

A whooping £1 million was spent on talented Hibs midfielder John Collins whilst Charlie Nicholas returned to paradise for an undisclosed fee, with another £650,000 being shelled out on Charlie’s former Arsenal teammate Martin Hayes who swapped the bright lights of North of London for the East end of Glasgow.

The Celtic support were excited by the purchase of the cultured and highly rated Collins, who turned down a better financial offer from Rangers to sign for the club he supported, and of course we knew all about Charlie Nicolas, from his early champagne days at Celtic to doing well enough at Arsenal then moving to Aberdeen.

Martin Hayes signs for Celtic – Photo The Celtic Wiki

In the case of Martin Hayes however, he was something of an unknown quantity to most Celtic fans, but nevertheless someone who was expected to shine due to not only his price tag, but because he was coming from a club like Arsenal where he had been a regular in the Gunners first team squad during his time at the club.

Charlie Nicholas in action against Celtic for Arsenal on 1 August 1987. Photo The Celtic Wiki

A number of Celtic supporters would have remembered Martin scoring a brace at Celtic Park in a pre season friendly in 1987 as Arsenal thumped a sorry Celtic side 5-1, indeed the London born player was the Gunners top scorer the previous campaign with a admirable 24 efforts, albeit 12 arrived courtesy of the penalty spot.

Charlie Nicholas in action against Celtic for Arsenal on 1 August 1987. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Speculation arose after his signing that he was available for transfer to fellow English sides for a much lower fee of £150,000, and the Gunners money men would undoubtedly have being doing cartwheels when the offer arrived from Glasgow!

After a few games we started to understand why that was the case as Martin very much looked like a substandard player, and Arsenal had very much pulled off their deal of the decade in fleecing Celtic once again (Charlie going to them in 1983).

Martin Hayes would go on to make just ten first team appearances, scoring zero goals before being freed in January 1992, going on to play for Wimbledon and Swansea amongst others as he disappeared into obscurity before retiring from the game in 2001.

Hayes will go down as a major disappointment and the proverbial flop signing, indeed the fact he couldn’t even force his way into a very poor Celtic side, tells its own sad story. And there’s still a real frustration that the money wasted on his signing could and should have been better spent.

One interesting and somewhat humorous tale from his time at the club kind of sums it all up perfectly. Martin once arrived at training an hour early and decided to have a kip in his car whilst he waited.

Martin Hayes, Celtic FC/ press cutting

Unfortunately for him he overslept and missed the entire session, and as he watched his teammates trooping off the training pitch he naturally panicked and quickly offered his excuse and apology’s to his bemused gaffer Liam Brady who quipped: “To be honest Martin, no one even noticed you were missing”.

Benjamin Nygren at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Brutal indeed, but it pretty much sums up Martin Hayes’ Celtic career. His signing certainly ranks as one of the worst ever transfer deals Celtic has done over the years. That £650k would be the equivalent of around £1.7m in today’s valuations – roughly the same as Celtic paid for Benjamin Nygren this summer.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, signed copies by Danny McGrain still available!

Celtic 3-0 St Mirren, Scottish Premier League, Celtic Park, 15 May 1982.Celtic captain Danny McGrain collects the championship trophy as Roy Aitken looks on. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Don’t miss the chance to purchase the late, great Celtic historian David Potter’s final book. All remaining copies have been signed by the legendary Celtic captain  Danny McGrain PLUS you’ll also receive a FREE copy of David Potter’s Willie Fernie biography – Putting on the Style, and you’ll only be charged for postage on one book.  Order from Celtic Star Books HERE.

Celtic in the Eighties and Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style both by David Potter. Photo The Celtic Star

Danny McGrain signing copies of Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Photo: Celtic Star Books

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