The debate around Arne Engels is unlikely to disappear and could easily flare up again once the summer window arrives.
Celtic found themselves under serious pressure on deadline day after Nottingham Forest lodged multiple offers for the midfielder. It left the club caught between two difficult positions. Turning down a £25 million bid felt risky, but letting Engels leave without a replacement ready was not an option either.
Former Hoops striker Frank McAvennie has admitted he would have taken a very different approach. Speaking on his Let Me Be Frank podcast as the bids were rolling in, McAvennie said he would have cashed in much earlier, claiming he would have accepted around £17 million for the club-record signing.
In theory, that would have allowed Celtic to reinvest part of the fee on a replacement in the £6 million to £8 million range. In reality, the club was not set up for that scenario, especially after the departures of Wilfried Nancy and Paul Tisdale early in January left the recruitment plans in flux.
During the discussion, podcast host Simon Houston also raised an interesting point, suggesting that Engels might be judged far more kindly by some critics if he had come through the youth system at Parkhead rather than arriving for a big fee.