The transfer window slammed shut last night, but there are always a few late deals that only get announced the following morning. Unfortunately, a new midfielder is not one of those despite some speculation today about veteran free agent Georginio Wijnaldum.
The three confirmed moves are loans for Academy standouts Landon Emenalo, 18, Shim Mheuka, 18, and Kiano Dyer, 19 — the two 18-year-olds both going to Celtic in Scotland and Dyer joining League Two side Chesterfield FC. Dyer and Mheuka already
have at least one senior appearance to their name while Emenalo (son of our former sporting director Michael Emenalo) was with the first-team on our preseason tour this summer and caught the eye of many observers.
It’s certainly a bold move for both Emenalo and Mheuka to be joining the Scottish champions, where they will be competing for minutes against seasoned internationals like former Arsenal left back Kieran Tierney or Denmark striker Kasper Høgh. Celtic manager Martin O’Neill spoke highly of the two teenagers upon their arrival, but we’ll just have to wait and see how that translates to minutes at the top level.
“Landon is a very good player we have followed for some time, he will give us some real quality. He has many attributes which I think can benefit us, he is very quick and athletic but also very composed on the ball and while he can defend he certainly gets up the pitch into attacking positions too. I know he has a real desire to do well for us and I am sure he will, as he adds strong competition and support on our left side.”
“Shim has great quality, hence Chelsea extending his contract, however I think this period of his career, spent with us, will be beneficial to him and obviously to us. I look forward to working with him, he is a player who I think can give us another great attacking dimension and I’m sure he will make an important contribution to Celtic.”
Good luck, all!
