Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 7y

Celtic's Craig Gordon joining Chelsea would have been a worry - Strachan

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan admits that Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon joining Chelsea on transfer deadline day "would have been a worry" for him, but insists that he is happy to see his key players moving to bigger clubs.

Chelsea had two bids rejected for Gordon in the final days of the January window as they sought a replacement for back-up goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who was keen to complete a £12 million move to Bournemouth and play regular Premier League football again.

But Celtic refused to budge on their insistence that Gordon was not for sale, and Strachan said he is relieved that Scotland's first-choice goalkeeper will continue to play every week at club level rather than sitting on the Chelsea bench.

Asked what he thought of the idea of Gordon joining Chelsea to provide cover for Thibaut Courtois, Strachan replied: "Yeah, that would have been a worry, but who's to say that he wouldn't go there and Courtois would get injured and Craig would then be playing in the best league in the world.

"That's the funny thing about football management -- seven weeks away is miles away. You never know what's going to happen. Somebody could get injured, an important player, maybe Craig -- we hope not, touch wood -- but that's what can happen.

"You sit there thinking, 'I hope the guys get moves to the clubs they want and they go up a level.' [Robert] Snodgrass has got a good move [to West Ham] and we're delighted with that. He just texted me just now. That was good, but there wasn't much going on in the transfer market, really."

Strachan says he was underwhelmed by a transfer deadline day that saw none of the Premier League's top six clubs make a single signing.

"Poor Jim White [on Sky Sports News] leaping around in his yellow gear again," he added.

"I felt sorry for all these guys who go to stand in the pissing rain with nothing happening -- 'Oh there's a car coming.'

"Oh that's good, that's terrific. We've seen it all before -- the player going in with the agent shoving him in somewhere, not got a clue where he's signing for. 'Where's this?' 'F*** knows.' 'Get in, we're getting plenty of money.' It wasn't exciting at all."

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