‘We needed pace’: Lee Congerton names the £52m Chelsea player he really wanted to sign for Celtic

Celtic pulled off one outstanding raid on Paris Saint-Germain under Brendan Rodgers but seemingly missed out on two more.

Bhoys supporters saw one ex-PSG talent become a Parkhead hero as Moussa Dembele spent two superb years in Glasgow.

Dembele left for Lyon after Celtic finalised a permanent deal for Odsonne Edouard, who joined the Bhoys directly from PSG.

Edouard hit 11 goals during a 2017-18 loan spell at Celtic and the Bhoys secured a permanent deal worth £9million.

Edouard went on to become a Celtic hero, smashing 87 goals in 179 games for the club before joining Crystal Palace in 2021.

The 26-year-old hasn’t quite had the same success in the Premier League but he showed the potential blueprint for Celtic.

The idea was to sign young players from clubs like PSG and develop them into stars – but two potential signings slipped through the net.

Celtic missed out on Chelsea star Christopher Nkunku

Former Celtic recruitment chief Lee Congerton has spoken to The Telegraph about his time at Parkhead.

Congerton went on to Atalanta and has recently become the sporting director of Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League.

Congerton’s work at Celtic was sometimes criticised but he has now named two players he wanted to bring to Celtic.

The Welshman claims that he wanted to sign both Moussa Diaby and Christopher Nkunku from the PSG ranks, believing they were ‘never’ going to play for PSG.

Congerton added that Celtic signed players he didn’t even want, sparking his decision to leave the club.

“At Celtic we had no money,” said Congerton. “Peter Lawwell is a nice man, he’s an accountant. Brendan spoke to me and said we needed pace and power, speed. We all know PSG has an amazing youth programme with players at the time who were never going to play for PSG. Two of the other players we tried to sign during my time were [Moussa] Diaby, who is now at Aston Villa, and [Christopher] Nkunku who is now at Chelsea.”

“But there were several players I didn’t want to be anywhere near them and that is why I left. Peter knows that and so did Brendan,” he added.

Nkunku and Diaby could have made Celtic millions

Diaby and Nkunku didn’t really break through with regularity at PSG but became superstars in the Bundesliga.

Diaby hit 49 goals and 48 assists in 172 games for Leverkusen and has shown promise in his first season at Aston Villa having secured a huge £43million move last summer.

Nkunku was even better in Germany, also racking up 172 games but notching 70 goals and 56 assists in the process.

Chelsea forked out £52million to sign Nkunku last summer but injuries mean he has only managed seven Premier League appearances this term.

The pair have proven PSG wrong for letting them go, but have also shown that they could have raked in millions for Celtic, even if the Bundesliga market is a more lucrative one than the Scottish Premiership.

Cedric Maxwell thinks Celtics should attack these potential playoff matchups ‘head on’

How should the Celtics approach another Miami or Philadelphia matchup in the 2024 playoffs?

Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell has one piece of advice for the Celtics as they roll comfortably into the postseason: “Get a dog if you’re afraid.”

The two-time NBA champ gave his vote of confidence to the 64-18 team Monday on NBC Sports Boston, saying he expects the Celtics to continue their dominant performance down the stretch.

“This is a defensive team, they get things done on both sides of the floor,” Maxwell said. “When I look at this team in totality, this team can really run the table. They just have a lot of great pieces — in veterans and in younger players.”

Sure, Boston coasted through April (6-2), something Maxwell said he didn’t love. However, the Celtics managed to pull off impressive wins earlier in the season against two of their potential first round opponents: the Heat and 76ers.

“The Celtics have played Philadelphia extremely well this year. Over the last couple of years, they’ve dominated Philadelphia. This team does not have any fear when I think about looking at them,” Maxwell said. “I like the Celtics’ chances yet again.”

Last year the Celtics met the Sixers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, playing out the entire series before sending Philly home in Game 7. This year, however, Boston’s addition of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday change the playoff picture.

Maxwell points out that Porzingis’s versatility — and his ability to draw defenders like Joel Embiid out away from the basket — will prove consequential in the postseason. The Celtics’ 7-foot-2 big man averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2 assists per game on the season, all while shooting 51.6 percent.

And while it was ultimately the Heat who ended Boston’s bid for Banner 18 in 2023, Maxwell says the Celtics shouldn’t fear them this season either. Rather, when it comes to another Celtics-Heat series, he thinks they should “get it over with.”

“That boogey-man that everyone’s talking about, meet them head on,” Maxwell said.

Who the Celtics will take on first in the 2024 NBA playoffs will be decided on by Friday night. As the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics have this week — the play-in tournament — off.

The Heat (No. 8) and the 76ers (No. 7) will face off Wednesday night, with the winner going on to face No. 2 seed New York in Round 1 of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the loser of the Heat-76ers matchup will host the Hawks-Bulls winner Friday with the opportunity to meet the Celtics.