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Why Celtic's Beram Kayal Is Out Of Southampton's League
Great vision, a composed passer and an effective ball-winner - with respect to Southampton, Celtic's Beram Kayal should be plying his trade at Old Trafford, not St Mary's.
Celtic’s Israeli midfield general Beram Kayal has been linked with a move away from Parkhead almost since the day he arrived, and the speculation hasn’t abated this summer. Southampton is the latest name to be linked with him, though his admirers over the last couple of years have also reportedly included Sir Alex Ferguson. John Clarke tells us why.
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Born on May 2nd 1988 in Jadeidi, Israel, Kayal has grabbed the imagination of the sporting press not just for being a good player, but also for being of Palestinian ethnicity and playing for the Israeli national team without many eyelids being batted. He has three full terms as a first-teamer at Maccabi Haifa and two at Celtic under his belt and would have been a strong candidate for Player of the Year in both seasons in Scotland had he not missed spells through injury.
Is he any good?
Kayal was man of the match in his first competitive game for Celtic and the fans have been drooling about him ever since. Many feel that his loss through injury was one of the main reasons why Celtic narrowly failed to win the title in Neil Lennon’s first full season as manager. His influence in the side is such that, in Scott Brown’s absence, he captained Celtic at the tender age of 22 and in his first season at the club (though it has to be said that at least seven players have skippered the side during Lennon’s tenure).
He’s also a pretty effective ball-winner and though he’s a cool customer, he’s not averse to putting in a tough tackle.
Vision and range of passing are his key attributes. He’s not likely to skin five players and tiptoe round the goalkeeper, but his close control is impressive enough and, combined with his upper body strength and composure, allows him to wriggle away from challenges in the middle of the park and buy himself time to pick his trademark killer pass. He’s also a pretty effective ball-winner and though he’s a cool customer, he’s not averse to putting in a tough tackle. Still in his early twenties, he already oozes class and plays with the brain of a much older man – he could easily develop into a world class midfield maestro.
He must have a weak point …
There’s not really much to file in the weakness column. Some have pointed to his lack of physical stature for a deep-lying midfielder but though he’s not the biggest, he’s nobody’s pushover. Cynics have also attempted to label him injury prone, having already had three spells on the sidelines in his time at Celtic. However, there’s little to connect a hernia operation, a fractured wrist, and ankle ligaments damaged under a challenge from Rangers’ Lee McCulloch, so it’d be harsh to put this run down to anything other than bad luck.
With all due respect, when he does go, it’s unlikely to be to Southampton. This is a man who knows he’s capable of playing for a top club – he may be happy to wait until the right one comes calling.
The only serious criticism Kayal has received in his Celtic career was for supposedly ducking out of the way of Arda Turan’s direct free kick to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 Europa League win at Parkhead. The footage is hard to argue with, but one mistake doesn’t make a bad player.
Would he go?
If the newspapers were always to be believed, Kayal would have been plying his trade at Old Trafford or Anfield over a year ago, but he’s still in the green and white hoops, so there’s no reason for Celtic fans to assume he’s packing his bags now. It would take serious money to persuade Neil Lennon to part with the lynchpin of his midfield, but should that megabucks offer materialise, the decision may lie with Kayal himself.
It’s likely he’ll want to test himself in one of the big leagues one day, and the Premiership may be as good a place as any, but from what we can gather he’s pretty comfortable at Parkhead for the time being. With all due respect, when he does go, it’s unlikely to be to Southampton. This is a man who knows he’s capable of playing for a top club – he may be happy to wait until the right one comes calling.
Follow @johnclarke1 on Twitter
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COMMENTS
Awwww it will be hard to take once Southampton take him off your hands. Lets face it... even being at a newly promoted premiership team is better than plying his trade in a poor scottish league with no competiton
How's the third working out for you jim? We feel your pain. LOL!
John, do you honestly believe fighting relegation in the EPL with a small regional club is a step in the right dirction? Glasgow Celtic have been and always will be a massive club and only one or two clubs in your highly over rated EPL would be considered by Kayal as a step up.
Yeah but if goes to Southampton he wont have European competition football and playing in front of 60,0000 every week. If he moves south he will only be up against vastly over-rated players such as Rooney and co.
Oh Dear, "With all due respect to Southampton" - which actually means NO respect to Southampton!! I'm sure he would rather play against the likes of Stenhousemuir, Alloa, Cowdenbeath et al,(or whoever plays in the SPL) anyway!!
Beram's a tough cookie, much too tough for the pansies in the EPL. Players in the EPL have difficulty staying on their feet when things are going against them, especially when they're around the opposition penalty area. EPL teams, whether it be Southampton or Man Utd, have delusions of grandeur.
He will go evntually i believe because he will outgrow the SPL but i doubt he'll go to Southampton and I out t will be this season when he has the opportunity to play in the CL for the first time where he can really showcase his talent.. he's just renegotiated hs contract and he often talks about his passion for Celtic and enjoying his life in Glasgow. bigger things than Southampton are in his future IMO.. so sorry saints fans think you'll have to start looking elsewhere.
Hahahaha love how deluded Scottish football fans are. Your league is terrible. If Southampton played Celtic tommorow they could easily win. And I'm not even a Southampton fan. Ajax battered Celtic 4-0 a week ago, whereas they only managed to edge out Southampton 1-0 in a game they didn't deserve to win. Says it all really. You then lost to Norwich, another low-tier Premier League side. Celtic fans seem to think that if they were thrown into the Premier League tommorow, that they would be in contention for Champions League, when in reality they would be fighting a relegation battle. Just cos you're a big fish in a little pond doesn't and you've got a big stadium doesn't make you a top team!
Pull your pants up, Southampton fans. You're a small, provincial club basking in the reflective glow of a few much bigger clubs. So someone on the internet had a dig at your club - big deal! Get over it and grow up. Precious, inadequate gimpoids.
Celtic, may have fantastic support but will never be a big club whilst they ply thier trade in the Scottish leaugues , they have no players that would attract the top four of the premier league orany champions league team . The team they have now would struggle to get out of the championship , so a Kayal move to Southampton is perfectly feasible.
FYI, in September Southampton will host Manchester United at St Mary's stadium. 90million people from around the world will be watching that match. Why would Kayal give a rat's ass about the 60,000 people in your stadium? A move to Southampton is or ANY EPL team is to move closer to every other quality team and league in the world. Your league won't even be on Sky in a couple of years time.
I'm always amazed at how English fans claim their footballing superiority - they can't ever be watching the quality of what's on show. The only English team that csn match Ajax's European pedigree is Liverpool and they're not the team they once were. Norwich beat Celtic's second string team with a last minute goal in a pre season friendly and that's supposed to be evidence of a better team. It's time for English teams and Scottish teams to strive to match the skills, technique, organisation, commitment and work ethic of teams like Bilbao and English fans should stop boring us with claims that Wayne Rooney is a world class player.
90 million people will be watching Manchester United(the world's most successful sports marketing project), not Southampton. Every Saints fan that comments brings up league size and success rather than the individual successes - both historic and comtemporary - of the clubs. Have you any idea how lame it makes you sound? Sports fans basking in the success of corporate, marketing men rather than sportsmen - well done, lads. Call me ond fashioned, but I'd rather have a player attracted to my club because it held a degree of sporting prestige(historical or otherwise), rather than a place in a shop window.
Who gives a toss? Why go on at each other? Celtic fans, enjoy your football and well done on winning the 2012/13 SPL! Saints fans, look forward to Premier League football for the first time in seven years! Whether this blokes goes or stays, I don't really give a sh!t. Now go on and get on with your business!
Can't believe Southampton ( a regional side) are getting mentioned in the same breath as the 'world famous' Glasgow Celtic...... Get a life.
Never heard of Southampton :)
What does it mean a "regional side" ? Southampton F.C are from the city of Southampton which is in the third most populated county in UK (Hampshire). Typical sweaty sock...DUHHH
someone mentioned ajax earlier narrowly beating southhampton well the likes of ajax and celtic if they had the money on offer to southhamptom this year would be able to keep there best players like Kayal/ eriksen and they would be able to attract the best players in the world if they and a few other clubs in the same boat that have huge histories stadia fan bases etc like feyenoord psv, porto, sporting, psg benfica braga lyon lille anderlecht clubbe bruuge basle to name but a few made their own leauge the exidus of players out of the epl would be frightening and the same goes for la liga and italy
Now that Saints are in the EPL they'll be like most other teams in the EPL, seeing it as some kind of status symbol. Rather than entering into a sporting competition by trying to win the league their only aim is to avoid relegation and pick up a fat cheque for doing so, a concept that is completely alien to a club like Celtic who look on a draw as a failure. Teams at the top of the EPL are only too happy to be playing against teams who have no genuine ambition.
You may be right,for now but saints earned they right to play at the top table for playing top class football and winning two promotions the latter from a league that wipes the floor with spl
A draw in the spl IS failure! That's how dog poor it is. The point I made wasn't about my view of what I agree is the EPL corporate machine. It was more every money hungry player's view of it. Of course we want players to play for the badge - but do u really think a guy from Israel is remotely interested in your illustrious history??
Just face it Scottish football is a farce, your so called best players end up playing for relegation battling teams when they leave for the EPL, look a Barry Ferguson or Shaun Maloney, two of the better SPL players who have ended up at Wigan and Blackpool. I think Southampton would be a step up, they'll be playing in Europe in a couple of years anyway with the money they have. If Celtic didn't qualify for the CL in a one-team league there would be something wrong with them...
Its a hilarious that people talk of 'playing in the CL' to showcase his talent. Playing in the CL with a Scottish team means playing against some unknown team from Uzerbazian etc... By the way, have you seen the young talent Southampton have been snapping up. We are going to shock a lot of clubs. I'd say it's a fantastic move for any player as we will be taking the type PL by storm.
Henry, You show your lack of knowledge of Scottish football with your comment about Shaun Maloney - he left Celtic to get regular football - he couldn't get into the Celtic team. Anyway, the constant sniping about Scottish football has nothing to do with the quality of the football. It's all to do with an English inferiority complex, always feeling they are the best at everthing. The EPL is an example of this, saying it's the highest stsndard of football but too many of the players have to cheat to win. For all its faults and shortcomings, I'd take Scottish football over greedy, overrated English football every time. I do however watch Match of the Day for my own amusement, watching all the examples of poor quality Scottish football regularly repeated in the EPL. To think Lescott is the best defender in England after the pickle he was in for QPR's first goal against Man City in the last game of the season. It's time fans of the EPL had a reality check.
Jason....I'm sure you'll find that Southampton FC based in the city of Southampton in the County of Hampshire is in the South East Region!
Kayal = too good for Saints. Wait until top 6 side comes in for you. In the meantime, enjoy playing for one of the biggest clubs in the WORLD.
I wonder how many of these English football fans would now like to come back here and tell us all how bad Celtic are and how our players wouldn't attract a top 4 EPL team or any Champions League team for that matter right now. Samaras - £2m + Gary Hooper £2.4m + Tony Watt £100,000 = 5 goals between them in CL .....Dzeko £28m + Tevez £25m + Sergio Aguero £38m + Mario Ballotelli £23m = 4 goals between them in CL . Those 4 Man City strikers all earn more in 1 year than it cost Celtic too buy those 3 strikers,now tell me who wasnt good enough for any other Champions League team. We now find ourselves in the last 16 of the CL which is an incredible acheivement for a club with our limited budget......just because we are in a small pond DOES NOT mean we are not a big fish....Hial!Hail! GBNL
Well said Brian well said
Hahahahahahahahahahaha... reading those comments... how things have changed! Forza Celtic... It's a no-brainer... Southampton are pish... we've got Juve in two weeks! :))) Hail Hail
Hahahahaha dark angel v2 whatdo u have to say for yourself now?
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