The word ‘flop’ is probably a little overused in modern football.
Celtic have certainly had their fair share of underwhelming signings themselves over the years.
But, while they never really lived up to expectations, it would maybe be a little harsh to force Sead Haksabanovic, Albian Ajeti, Gustaf Lagerbielke and co into the ‘flop’ category.
They all had their moments of course – Lagerbielke scored a late winner against Feyenoord in the Champions League last season, for instance – albeit fewer than Celtic would have imagined.
But would even the harshest of Hoops supporters go as far as to label them out-and-out disasters? Transfers with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever?
Celtic once wanted £2m striker Said Hamulic
Unfortunately for Said Hamulic, the same intensity isn’t shown for a striker whose miserable performance in the previous 18 months makes him much harder to contain.
Hamulic even turned down Celtic’s offers, according to Tuttomercatoweb, when he completed a £2 million move in January 2023 from Polish team Stal Mielec to Toulouse, France.
It is impossible to say for sure, though, if Hamulic would have struggled at Celtic to the same extent as he did in France, not to mention during his unfortunate loan stints in the Netherlands and Russia.
A guy who attracted Celtic’s attention after scoring nine goals in 17 Ekstraklasa games for Stal Mielec would have probably found the scoresheet at least once given Brendan Rodgers’ inventiveness.
In contrast, Toulouse was a Ligue 1 midtable squad that was barely known for their creativity. After that, Hamulic joined a miserable Vitesse Arnhem team that was unable to win or even score a goal. Due to injury, he was only able to play for 15 minutes while on loan at Lokomotiv Moscow.
Nevertheless, Hamulic hasn’t scored a goal for his team or country in 30 appearances. It has been over two years since the Bosnian international scored against Worta Poznan for Stal Mielec.
Evaluation of the French magazineProduced in Foot It will be impossible for even the most kind pundits to argue against the conclusion that Hamulic was a “flop” and that this pretty well sums up his tenure in France..
Zero-goal striker returns to Poland
Hamulic’s latest loan exit sees the Toulouse misfit return to the league where he made his name. The misfiring, Dutch-born 23-year-old joins Widzew Lodz in a desperate attempt to rediscover some semblance of the form which made him a man in such high demand not so long ago.
Not that Widzew Lodz coach Daniel Mysliwiec is expecting Hamulic to explode out of the blocks, both his body and his mind suffering from a damaging period where fitness and form has been increasingly difficult to come across.
“The person who has completed three training sessions is the most interesting (of our new signings),” Mysliwiec tells Sportowe Fakty of Hamulic, who may have played his last game for Toulouse due to the purchase clause in his contract.
“Said shows high quality, but he is not ready to play for us for 90 minutes.
“We are doing everything to focus on those players who gave joy in Mielec and we hope that there will be even more of it now.”
Flash forward to the summer of 2024, and Celtic are back in the market for a number nine.
Adam Idah, HITC understands, remains a target after scoring nine times in 19 games during a fine loan spell last term. The sort of numbers Hamulic can only dream of.
Celtic have thus far fallen short of Norwich City’s £8 million asking price. As such, an enquiry has now been lodged for Hearts captain and Premiership Golden Boot winner Lawrence Shankland.
