Fabio Borini being linked with Celtic makes a lot of sense, and at the same time doesn’t make a lot of sense. The player’s links with Brendan Rodgers and Lee Congerton make a Celtic Park move seem on the cards, and whilst that could be the case, there’s also some negative points.
Firstly comes money. It’s been reported more than once that Borini leaving Liverpool, where he was managed by Rodgers, was held up over wage demands. Rodgers and Liverpool were so keen to sell Borini they agreed a fee with Sunderland and made that public, pressuring the player to leave.
Borini is a flexible forward, and could be for Celtic, but he’s only added 5 assists in that entire time. Rodgers may well have wanted to work with him before, but he edged the player out of Liverpool, and would surely only sign Borini for Celtic if he believed the Italian would shine at a lower level.
Sunderland would likely be content to offload Borini’s wages to Celtic next season, given their likely relegation. The 26 year old has been Sunderland’s 21st best performing player this season, according to WhoScored, so they wouldn’t be missing a great deal.
Should Brendan Rodgers interest be genuine then the best idea for Celtic is a loan. Borini has another couple of seasons on his lucrative Sunderland deal, and if Rodgers could persuade the soon to be Championship club that a loan would be beneficial, Borini could arrive at Celtic Park on a try-before-buy basis.
