After joining Celtic on a short-term loan deal in January 2019, hopes concerning the future of Timothy Weah were quite high.
Indeed, Thomas Tuchel – Paris Saint-Germain’s head coach at the time of the centre-forward’s switch to Glasgow – praised the youngster’s “outstanding combination of endurance and speed” on the pitch, stating of his move to Celtic: “He will have to understand the team, the rhythm, the play, when to attack, when to use his speed, when to wait and not go too early and be caught offside. But the basics are there at a very high level.”
Furthermore, Neymar also tipped the USA international for greatness following his Parkhead move, stating of the 22-year-old: “It is a very exciting move for him. From what I have seen of his talent, he has everything to go and be one of the top attacking players in Europe.
“It is a good move for him, a good move for Celtic as they are getting such a big talent, and also a good move for PSG because he has a chance to get experience and games and come back to us a more complete player.
“He did have options – but he chose the right one. Celtic are a big club. In their league, they attack a lot and score a lot of goals, and also they are still in Europe – so they offer him much.”
However, despite this early expectation, Weah struggled to seal a starting spot in Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side ahead of the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths, with 13 of his 17 appearances in green and white coming from the bench.
Because of this lack of game-time, the American’s returns for the Bhoys were not exactly breathtaking, with four goals and one assist in all competitions. However, the youngster’s goals-to-minutes ratio was actually quite impressive, with the centre-forward finding the net once every 130 minutes during his stay in Glasgow.
Also, considering that Lille snapped up the striker for £9m the following summer, perhaps Celtic’s decision to not match the French club’s offer could be one that the Hoops live to regret.
Indeed, while it is true that the £17m-rated hitman has struggled with injuries since his switch to the Stade Pierre Mauroy, Weah has undoubtedly progressed since his time at Celtic, playing a regular role in his side’s Ligue 1 title-winning campaign last term.
That is a feat on which his father – 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah – commented: “As a winner of the Ligue 1 title myself, I know it takes immense determination, hard work, commitment and steadfastness week after week to emerge as a champion. In spite of many injuries and having played 28 games, this is a feat we know Tim had always wanted.
“We are glad that as a forward on the squad, he was able to contribute to this accomplishment in a major way for Lille to become French Champions once again.”
As such, while Celtic are now well-stocked in the attacking department following the arrivals of Kyogo Furuhashi, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Daizen Maeda and Jota, perhaps the permanent signing of the £9k-per-week Weah back in 2019 would have been enough for the Hoops to defend their Premiership crown last season – or at least put up a much better fight.
Either way, considering his rise in value since his switch to Lille, it is clear that the Bhoys had a shocker by missing out on a potentially significant payday on the 22-year-old, something which will certainly have left the club’s hierarchy gutted.
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