The term ‘project player’ is thrown around time and time again by supporters, but the true definition of the term isn’t crystal clear. It is usually used as a negative to throw at club flops such as Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Marian Shved, but project players aren’t always that bad.
Clubs with Celtic’s standing in the current footballing climate operate using this same system and to differing success, but the lack of European calibre signings – and too many project players – is a commonly-used gripe when fans are describing the club’s transfer business.
There have been a number of examples where the so-called project players turned out to be top class performers who bucked the negative trend of projects being a bad word when discussing transfers.
Matt O’Riley
Matt O’Riley was signed for just £1.5m back in January of 2022 from MK Dons and could so easily have been lost in the shuffle at Parkhead.
Instead, the English-born Dane embraced the early opportunities afforded to him which helped him nail down a starting position at the club. He has only gone from strength-to-strength since his early days at the club, cementing himself as a European-calibre player with two UEFA Player of the Match awards for his displays in the Champions League. The playmaker capped off a dream two years at Celtic Park by earning his first start for the Danish national team against Northern Ireland a few days ago.
Signed for a minuscule fee in today’s money, O’Riley has paid back the initial £1.5m and then some with Celtic looking set to cash in a club-record transfer fee when O’Riley eventually does move on.
Odsonne Edouard
It could be argued that the acquisition of Odsonne Edouard was a project signing. Whilst his initial loan spell at the club showed some good performances in the second-half of the season, paying the £9m fee for a relatively unproven player was a massive gamble for Celtic.
The club eventually doubled their profits when the French forward eventually moved on to Crystal Palace, but the fee was paid back through the top-drawer performances that Edouard was turning in for Celtic, especially in high-pressure moments.
Having signed for Celtic on loan from PSG on 31 August 2017, the striker made the £9m move permanent on 1 July 2018. By the time Crystal Palace paid £14m for the services of the Frenchman, he had scored 87 goals in 179 appearances for Celtic, with a goal contribution every 98 minutes of his Parkhead career.
A project player isn’t defined by the price tag attached to their name, and Odsonne Edouard is a prime example of this.
Moussa Dembele
The man that Edouard was signed to eventually replace, Dembele was acquired for a measly compensation fee from Fulham and instantly hit the ground running.
A hat-trick on his derby debut was the ideal way to introduce himself to the Celtic Park faithful, and so began an upward trajectory in the Celtic career of Moussa Dembele.
The Frenchman showed quality in the Champions League, scoring against Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach and, much like the aforementioned Odsonne Edouard, he would always have a say in the big domestic games such as cup finals and derby matches.
When the powerful striker did eventually move on it was for a club record fee; when he was signed from Fulham, the only footballing experience he had was in the English Championship.
Dembele had the game-time and room to develop into a European-calibre player at Celtic. Often, getting the minutes to improve and show their worth is what is lacking for many of our failed project players.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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