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Celtic may have got a lucky escape as £5m man labelled ‘a huge disappointment’
Dan Owen
Dan Owen
Tue 6 August 2024 18:00, UK
‘Huge disappointment’. Two words no player wants to hear only a few months after completing a £5 million move to a new club.
And for the former Celtic target – linked heavily with a move to the Scottish Premiership champions over the last two years – a difficult start to life over in Belgium will not have The Hoops fretting that they have missed out one Switzerland’s answer to Jude Bellingham.
After earning the captain’s armband at FC Lugano, comparisons between young Ardon Jashari and the Real Madrid superstar emerged during a fabulous breakout campaign in 2022.
One which not only secured his place in Switzerland’s World Cup squad, but which also sparked links with Arsenal, Leeds and numerous other clubs situated to Celtic’s south.
And when Jashari sealed his £5 million move to Club Brugge in April, that was supposed to be the natural next step for a footballer making the slow and steady climb towards the summit of the European game. A first step, perhaps, on his journey to British football and the biggest stages.
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Ardon Jashari of Switzerland poses during the official FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 portrait session on November 15, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
Photo by Lars Baron – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Celtic missed out on Club Brugge’s Ardon Jashari
His first few weeks in Belgium, however, has seen Jashari miss his step, slipping off the rung as he hangs onto the ladder for dear life.
At least, that is the view of the always-outspoken Hein Vanhaezebrouck; The former Genk, Gent and Anderlecht boss who did not miss a chance to stick the boot in during what was a difficult Jupiler League debut during Brugge’s 1-0 defeat to Standard Liege over the weekend.
Jashari may be only 73 minutes into his Belgian football career – he was left on the bench in matchday one and hauled off on matchday two – but this is probably the kind of scrutiny he can expect on the back of his big-money arrival.
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“Ardon Jashari turned out to be a huge disappointment,” Vanhaezebrouck tells Het Nieuwsblad, feeling that the 22-year-old struggled to cope with the pace and intensity of his new surroundings.
“With his previous teams, (Jashari’s style) probably worked because there was more space. But in Belgium, the intensity is higher. His ability to recover doesn’t seem that great.
“He won’t win high balls very often either. He’s not one of the biggest.
“Jashari clearly comes from a competition where the intensity is lower. Those who succeed in Belgium can compete in the big competitions in terms of intensity.”
Comparisons with Bellingham are difficult to justify
The ball is in Jashari’s court, then.
Only he can have Vanhaezebrouck chowing down on a hearty portion of humble pie. But that will require big improvements to be made with regards to his understanding of the Belgian game and his ability to cope with it’s power and athleticism.
And if Jashari cannot cope with life at Club Brugge – though the sample size is obviously very small at this stage – it is difficult to make the case that Celtic would have been the ideal environment for him to develop.
The Hoops’ alleged interest was discussed by Swiss publication Blick back in 2023, alongside FC Porto and Atalanta.
More talented and experienced footballers than Jashari, after all, have found the famously aggressive Scottish game difficult to master.
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CELTIC
HEIN VANHAEZEBROUCK
JUDE BELLINGHAM
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