Plymouth Argyle, Celtic deal was one to forget: View | OneFootball

Nadir Ciftci's time at Home Park was not one that will be fondly remembered by anyone involved

Remember when Nadir Ciftci was the next young superstar ready to make a name for himself in the Football League and beyond? Those were the days.

It may be hard to think of now, but there was a time when the Turkish forward was being tipped for the top, with the frontman making his debut for a cash-strapped Portsmouth side back in 2010.

The power, the grit, the determination, the teenager seemed to have it all, with a goal-laden stint at Dundee United only adding to his reputation before a move to Scottish giants Celtic.

But after all the hype, the Turk failed to cut the grade at Celtic Park, or anywhere else from then on for that matter, as Plymouth Argyle found out first-hand in 2017.

Nadir Ciftci stalls after promising Dundee United performances earn Celtic move

Over a two-year spell from 2013 to 2015, Ciftci had managed to harness all that potential that had been spoken about since his days at Fratton Park, and produced back-to-back seasons for Dundee United that took the Scottish Premiership by storm.

Eleven goals in his first season, and 14 the next, saw the striker’s reputation start to skyrocket once again, with glimpses of the star that had broken through on the south coast starting to resurface.

With the ability and the physicality to relish a tussle with a defender, Ciftci was becoming the star man at Tannadice, with two strikes against Celtic in the 2014/15 campaign making the Bhoys stand up and take notice of the goal-getter.

Such is the way with the Scottish game, that the Glasgow side couldn’t beat him, so they bought him, with a £1.5 million fee bringing him to Parkhead in the summer of 2015.

But from then on, that sparkle was lost from his performances, with game time and goals proving to be elusive in the years to come.

Nadir Ciftci fails in Plymouth Argyle move

With four goals up until January for his new employers, Ciftci failed to hit the heights of the campaign before, with a loan move to Eskishirspor in his homeland being seen as the perfect option to reignite his career, before a further stint with Pogon Szczecin in Poland.

With neither move setting the world alight, Argyle were the latest to try their luck in the 2017/18 campaign, with Derek Adams luring the Turk to Home Park for the Pilgrims’ return to the third tier.

Having made a name for himself for managing to squeeze the most out of players who had seemingly lost their way in the game, there were plenty who were expecting big things if the former Ross County boss could work his magic with Ciftci, but that didn’t prove to be the case.

Right from the off, there were plenty of red flags in the frontman’s performances, with his sluggish nature only being topped off by his awful attitude, as he seemingly looked unbothered each and every time he took to the field.

Never one to suffer fools gladly, Adams had already made up his mind on the attacker before the end of September, with a 20-minute performance back at Fratton Park all he had to show for his efforts after the first two months of the season.

Talking at the time, Adams said of the situation: "His agent's working to find a club for him, and if he can find that then it might be the best solution that Nadir moves on.

"The only way that Nadir will leave in January is if he goes to another club. He won’t be returning to Celtic.

"He will be moving on to another club, or he gets himself back in the team here. We just have to wait and see. His agent is on the case.

"I would like to see Nadir playing for us because he’s a talented individual, but he needs to play games somewhere."

The fact that Argyle never won with Ciftci on the pitch highlights the disdain for the Turk at Home Park, with his goalless displays earning him few fans on his sojourn to the south west.

The quicker the Pilgrims were rid of him the better, with his departure coinciding with a massive upturn of form that saw Adams’ men narrowly miss out on the League One play-offs.

For both Ciftci and Argyle, their four-month relationship was the nadir, with neither benefiting from a move that never really took off.