One year since £800k Celtic transfer collapsed, Rivaldo Coetzee still hasn’t played

Add as preferred source on Google

One year ago to the day it looked as though Celtic had secured a top young defensive talent. Ajax Cape Town announced that the young South Africa international Rivaldo Coetzee had agreed a deal to join Celtic.

The move was pending a medical and work permit, both of which were expected to be successful for Celtic.

It looked a fantastic deal. Considered one of the top young talents in Africa, the defender had won the player and player’s player of the year awards at Ajax CT the previous season.

Celtic would have paid a fee reported to be in the region of £800,000 for the player, according to Goal, and it looked a great piece of business.

However, the walls came crashing down around this deal.

As reported by the BBC a medical discovered an issue with Coetzee’s right foot and the plug was pulled on a transfer. Ten days later, with Ajax CT no longer a welcome environment he switched to fellow South African outfit Mamelodi Sundowns.

One year later and it would not appear Celtic made a mistake.

The problem with Coetzee’s medical was clearly more serious than first feared. One year later, and Coetzee has not played a single game since.

At the end of July, he returned to full training. The Times in South Africa reported recently that at one stage, the shockingly bad toe injury was threatening to end his career at just 21-years-old.

Celtic have no doubt dodged a bullet for now. But they should also keep track of his progress. He remains extremely young and equally as talented. If he can prove he is over his injury woes, maybe a return bid could be on the cards from Celtic.