Danny Blind has broken rank over the deal after stepping down as football commissioner following the end of the transfer window
Kasper Dolberg(Image: SNS Group)
Former football commissioner Danny Blind has warned Kasper Dolberg he faces the prospect of limited game time at Ajax after snubbing Celtic.
The verdict comes just hours after Blind stepped down from his role at the Eredivise giants.
The Hoops were left short of attacking options in the final hours of the transfer window after agreeing a £7million deal to sell Adam Idah to Swansea.
Celtic saw bids turned down by Anderlecht for the Denmark international – who reportedly had no interest in making the move to Parkhead.
Instead the 27-year-old would opt to leave the Belgian giants for his former club in Amsterdam – after Ajax sold him to Ligue 1 side Nice for £19million in 2019.
But Blind reckons that there is no guarantees he will get the nod from boss John Heitinga to lead the line over veteran Wout Weghorst.
Asked about the deal by Ziggo Sport : “It was last minute. It remains to be seen (if he will be a success), but he’s well-known within Ajax and the Netherlands.
“He’s been on some adventures. He had a fantastic year in the 2017/2018 season, and the following year wasn’t as good. That’s when he made the transfer abroad.
“He was loaned out from Nice and things didn’t quite work out. He eventually ended up at Anderlecht, and his statistics are good there.
“He’s also gotten a bit older, 27 I think, so he should have become more stable. Strikers are a bit more fickle, and he’s had his ups and downs in his career. I hope he now has the stability to become a regular.”
Anderlecht’s Danish forward Kasper Dolberg (Image: BELGA/AFP via Getty Images)
Pressed on the decision to knock back other offers for an Ajax homecoming, Blind added: “That’s always nice.
“Of course, things have changed, because it’s been seven or eight years. There are completely different players.
“But he arrived young, fifteen or sixteen, and he described it as a kind of going home. That says something about how much he’s looking forward to it and that he’s felt good here.
“His numbers are good, but of course, we also have Wout Weghorst. They’ll just have to fight it out.”
Since the end of the window, Blind has left his position on the Supervisory board – which had seen him involved in recruitment at the club.
Discussing the decision, he said: “There is a time to come and a time to go. I look back with satisfaction on the sporting successes of the past.
“I hope the road upwards will continue. For me, it is good to be able to focus my attention more on other matters.”
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Celtic page and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We’re also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Celtic community here.
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport’s newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.