And we thought football rumour silly season was over now the transfer window had slammed shut.
A tweet from Betfair sparked meltdown on social media last night, suggesting that the absence of Ryan Giggs from Manchester United's bench during their 3-0 win against Stoke City was due to the Reds legend being poised to move to Celtic within the next 48 hours.
However, people were not necessarily too believing of the rumour:
There aren't many certainties in life, but the fact that Ryan Giggs still won't be the Celtic manager in the next 48 hours is one of them.
— Maley's Bhoys (@MaleysBhoys) February 2, 2016
Later reports suggest that Giggs missed the match due to a family illness, and some cold, hard analysis suggests that it would be a strange time for Celtic to make their move, with the transfer window now shut, and the current incumbent Ronny Deila having just been awarded the Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month award for January. They also lead the Premiership by six points from Aberdeen - although their last match did witness a shock League Cup semi-final defeat to Ross County. Even this, though, was not too much of a shock: County are in fourth place in the League, so they're no slouches.
Nonetheless, if the rumour turns out to be true that Giggs is leaving Old Trafford, few could be truly surprised; the Welshman and Louis van Gaal have made an odd couple with little obvious chemistry on the bench, and it's hard to believe that Giggs is happy with the negative style of football currently being played.
Despite his lack of success as caretaker manager following David Moyes' departure and his lack of management experience, he is widely expected to be one of the frontrunners to take over from van Gaal when the Dutchman finally departs - which could well be at the end of the season. So it wouldn't make too much sense for him to move north of the border now.
Celtic fans remain unconvinced, and we think we're with them:
(Image: Rex)
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