Pre-Game Rumors

By: Matt | August 4th, 2009

We all know there’s a big game occurring tomorrow at around 12 noon eastern standard time in Moscow. It will be an uphill battle, but Celtic know what they have to do. A near perfect game might be needed for advancement, but Celtic seemed to be just a step off their stride last game. Judging by the squad sent out against Sunderland, a similar squad to last week’s will be sent out to do the deed. Not much has changed about the Dinamo Moscow squad since we looked at them last week, except the return of their captain Dmitri Khokhlov and they are coming off a 2-0 victory this past weekend. Celtic might be the underdog right now, but as the saying says, “Keep the Faith!” There have been some interesting rumors about who Tony Mowbray is looking at to add to the squad though. As I mentioned last week, Celtic were after Stockport County Defender Josh Thompson, and County’s manager Gary Ablett has confirmed that Thompson has signed with Celtic. Josh Thompson has finally sealed his move in a deal worth £500k for Stockport County. There is another player linked to Celtic with a bit of a higher profile though…

When I first heard that Damien Duff’s name being linked with Celtic, I figured it was similar to the Gudjonsen and Robbie Keane rumors, exciting but not much substance behind them. However, the rumor would not die and reports have come out that Celtic have made a bid for the former Newcastle player. Whether that bid is anywhere in the price range that Duff will be looking thing has yet to be announced and is a valid question, however if Celtic can land the Republic of Ireland international, it would certainly be an exciting signing. The Tim-ernet is filled with people saying that Duff’s wife says he’ll be going to Celtic and is looking for Glasgow area homes, but the skeptical side of that Tim-ernet is talking about the lack of season ticket renewals this season and claim it’s just a rumor to get sales up. We shall have to see. As the video above shows, Duff is obviously a Celtic supporter and might be willing to cut a deal to play for his team. He clearly isn’t interested in Cola-ship football in the toon, so could he be coming home? Can you say “Naka’s replacement”?

2-1 to the Celtic tomorrow. KEEP THE FAITH!