BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Celtic are set to make a £1 million loss on misfit striker Stefan Scepovic after it emerged that Getafe are obliged to make his loan deal permanent.
The 25-year-old, who scored just six goals in 26 games following his £2.3 million switch to Parkhead from Sporting Gijon last summer, was a deadline day departure from the Scottish champions, joining The Azulones for the rest of the season.
He was unveiled to the media on Wednesday afternoon by Getafe president Angel Torres, who revealed that he had previously attempted to snap up the rangy Serb.
And, according to reports in Spain, Torres confirmed that Getafe will pay Celtic €1.8 million (£1.3 million) by June 2016 to make the move permanent. The misfiring front-man will then sign a contract until 2019.
He becomes the latest striking import to fail to make the grade with the Hoops, following in the inauspicious footsteps of Teemu Pukki, Amido Balde, Holmbert Fridjonsson and Mo Bangura.
Meanwhile, Scepovic insists his miserable stint in Scotland has not piled on the pressure for him to succeed in Spain.
The former Sampdoria, Club Brugge and Partizan Belgrade man said: “I’ve done a full preseason and I am ready to hit the ground running. I have already trained with the team and am hungry to play.
“I don’t feel any pressure to be a success. That is something you live with in football and I can deal with it.
“I won’t set myself any targets for an amount of goals – but I’m confident I can do my talking on the pitch.”
