Major League Soccer has issued an apology to Celtic and Kyogo Furuhashi after the governing body of football in the United States erroneously claimed the Japanese forward had signed for Atlanta United.
The MLS’ official website posted a story on Wednesday night reporting that Atlanta – managed by former Celtic boss Ronny Deila – had “acquired” Furuhashi from Celtic, only for it to be quickly taken down. The Georgia-based side themselves announced around the same time they had signed former Japan youth international Cayman Togashi from Sagan Tosu in the J-League.
Atlanta had been linked with a potential move for Furuhashi and reports have since claimed they are still weighing up a move for the 29-year-old, whose Celtic contract runs to 2027.
In a statement issued to Press Association, the MLS said: “Major League Soccer’s website mistakenly posted an article that named the wrong player as having signed with an MLS club. The article was immediately removed and corrected. MLS extends its sincere apologies to the impacted parties.”
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Celtic sacked a member of staff after leaking an apparent transfer list that included a current Chelsea star and a former Manchester United player. A document revealing Celtic’s transfer plans was leaked ahead of the 2019/20 season. The club took action in a bid to track down the mole who leaked the transfer document. Cleaner Maureen Quinn was subsequently dismissed with immediate effect following a meeting – along with her son, Edward Quinn, who was suspended from his security job at the club’s Lennoxtown training centre. Maureen told The Daily Record: “It’s a disgrace. “I’ve done nothing wrong and I’m getting blamed for whatever this is. I know my son would do nothing wrong either. We’re just scapegoats. I want to clear my name.” She added: “They pulled me in three times for meetings about this. “In my job at Lennoxtown, I empty bins and take them to the bin room on a trolley. I think they believe I’ve went through the bins and found this paper, gave it to my son and he’s photographed it. “I support Celtic because my son and husband do but I couldn’t name half their players. I couldn’t care less what’s on a bit of paper. “I was in tears. I’m gutted and sick for Edward, too.” The leaked transfer list included Chelsea’s Reece James, who had just enjoyed a season on loan at Wigan Athletic, and then-Man United’s Scott McTominay, who joined Napoli last summer. James Justin, who left Luton Town for Leicester City, and Fikayo Tomori, who starred for Derby County in the previous season, were also included on the transfer document. At the time, a Celtic spokesperson said: “This is an internal matter. We are satisfied that the club has acted appropriately.” Edward had been employed by Celtic since 2008, stewarding games before moving onto security work. He said: “About 30 people work at the training centre. Celtic had a club lawyer and head of security question everyone in the building on their own. They got me and my mum back in for second interviews. “They showed me a photo of a hand holding a piece of paper. My boss said, ‘I think they look like your nails’. I showed them my nails, which aren’t as short as those in the photo. “They also referred to me going into the football admin office on the morning of the Scottish Cup Final on May 25. I was on shift and have texts to show I was asking people if they had a phone charger. I went in that office looking for one.”
January 2, 2025
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One exit has been completed on Thursday, however, from Celtic after defender Stephen Welsh earlier completed his loan move to KV Mechelen following a lengthy pursuit by the Belgian Pro League club. The 24-year-old was allowed to move on for the remainder of the season after making just two appearances this term, taking his Celtic total to 66.
Welsh, whose Celtic contract runs to 2027, said on his new club’s website: “I want to fight my way into the team as soon as possible. Mechelen have shown for some time that they would like to have me here. In the coming months I want to fight together with the team and the supporters and achieve great results.”
Mechelen sporting director Tim Matthys said: “Finally he is with us. We had already made a number of attempts to bring Stephen here. What did not work then has now been completed. Stephen is the reinforcement we needed in the short term. He will give our defensive compartment a solid injection of quality.”
Other players could be on the move from Celtic. Midfielder Odin Thiago Holm has linked with a loan move to Los Angeles FC and reports in Spain claim that Rayo Vallecano are close to a deal for winger Luis Palma
