Troublesome Champions League qualifiers and important lessons from 2018

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The Celtic Star

·20 June 2025

Troublesome Champions League qualifiers and important lessons from 2018

With the worrying prospect of Champions League qualifiers once again on the horizon for the first time in a few years, I have been thinking about the huge importance placed upon these games and how they can predetermine the whole atmosphere that surrounds the club moving forward.

This season the nervousness amongst us fans will be cranked up from the moment the draw is made in early August right the way through to the whistle blows at the end of the second leg as the rewards for making the league stage are so huge.

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Boyata, McGinn and the unhappy summer of 2018

Not only that but we have got used to being a Champions League club these past few years, and after our best showing in years last season, we will all be salivating at the thought of going up against the so called elite of Europe once again. The real reason I have been thinking about this however is due to the recent interview with Dedryck Boyata, who discussed the summer of 2018, one many of you will remember well, for all the wrong reasons.

That summer we came up against AEK Athens which seemed a reasonable enough draw against a team we were more than capable of beating. The atmosphere around the club however was far from harmonious, and this was purely down to events surrounding transfers, both in and out of the club.

The night of the first leg which we drew 1-1 at Celtic Park was also the night John McGinn signed for Aston Villa. The fans were far from happy and it’s pretty well known that Brendan Rodgers felt the same. Not only that but we were also dealing with a situation around a player who clearly wanted out of Celtic Park for the bright lights of London and the Premier League.

The whole thing was a shambles

Fulham had put a £9m bid in for Dedryck Boyata and the players head had been turned. Celtic didn’t accept the bid as they wanted Boyata available for the all important second leg in Athens but then the player refused to play, claiming he hadn’t fully recovered from an injury. The whole thing was a shambles and Celtic went to Athens and got beat 2-1, ending our Champions League dream for that year.

This memory is what leads me to write this article.

It’s imperative that a similar situation does not happen again this season.

I have to admit when I first read Boyata’s interview the first player to come to mind was Nicolas Kuhn, which could be totally unfair on the German as I have absolutely no idea regarding his future plans but he did crop up in my thoughts all the same.

Reo Hatate could be another player who could maybe be looking away this summer. You could go on and name Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Daizen Maeda as potential candidates to be looking at a new challenge but something makes me think these three would be more than happy to give another season or two to Celtic, although there will undoubtedly be interest in the trio.

Transfers in or out of the club must not curtail our focus

What is important is that transfers in or out of the club must not curtail our focus as we face these two hugely important games. If bids are received for players like Kuhn or Hatate then someone needs to sit down with them and determine whether they want to remain at the club or not. If it’s the latter and the offer we receive is satisfactory then let them go, we do not need the drama lingering over the club during this vital part of the season.

This is also why it’s so important to try and get our main transfer targets in before we get to these games. Not only will it help having them in the squad and match ready, but we also don’t want the negativity surrounding the club due to inactivity in the transfer market.

Lennon Miller in action against Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Another John McGinn situation which aggravates both the manager and fans is not what is needed during this period. I can already foresee Lennon Miller as being the John McGinn of this transfer window. If we really do want him then get it sorted out now, put a decent bid in and talk to the lad and see if he wants to come to Celtic Park. If not then cut your losses and move on. Do not let this drag on throughout the summer.

You just hope the club has learnt it’s lessons from that troubled summer of 2018.

Time will tell.

Conall McGinty

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