One of the most striking features of Donald Trump’s rallies these days is his bizarre obsession with Hannibal Lecter.
Yes, that Hannibal Lecter – Hannibal the Cannibal. And honestly, it’s hard to say whether Trump is aware that Lecter is a fictional character or if he’s just pulling one of his usual stunts. Either way, it’s a strange topic to bring up in a political context.
I’ve also been thinking about Hannibal Lecter a lot lately, but for a different reason.
A few weeks ago I pointed out in a blog post that Celtic fans don’t focus on the villain on the panel, whereas our minds are mostly on the villain on the other side of town, and that might be one of the reasons why our directors like having them around.
But that’s not the only reason I think of Hannibal.
What really makes me think about Lecter is the constant stream of transfer stories linking us to a player called Hannibal from Manchester United.
I don’t know if these rumors have any more substance than Thomas Harris’s strange novels about America’s hyper-intelligent serial killer, but they’re out there, they’re making the rounds, and unlike many other transfer stories, they don’t just appear and disappear… these rumors linger in the background, as if waiting to strike.
The Hannibal in question is Hannibal Mejbri. Although he hasn’t played much for Manchester United’s first team, some people have seen him in action and have had differing opinions.
But the truth is that we don’t know what is true and what is just rumour. It is also telling that he is being linked with us and the Ibrox club at the same time, which usually suggests that this is more of an agent’s game than a genuine transfer hunt.
So do we really want to sign Hannibal?
Or maybe we just bring him in on loan, which seems to be our preferred move lately as it saves us money in the short term?
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing – loan deals with an option to buy have worked well for us with players like Bernardo, Jota and Carter-Vickers – but loans just don’t have the same impact as a permanent transfer.
To be honest, I’m not even sure I’d be convinced about a permanent deal for Hannibal because I don’t know enough about him. He’s a product of the Man United Youth Academy, has performed well in the Championship but hasn’t made much of a splash.
And that’s weird to me. If he was that good, he would be.
Furthermore, if an agent starts to vacillate between us and the club across town, I wonder if we should stay away from it.
At the moment, this seems like a classic case of media hype without much substance. But this one just won’t die – just like the saga of Dr. Lecter himself. You can’t help but feel that there’s another twist coming, another chapter that hasn’t been turned yet.
It is no coincidence that Ibrox bloggers are trying to influence the situation while the club remains silent. The silence could mean they missed him, or perhaps they were never interested in him to begin with. It could even be that Hannibal prefers a move to Celtic and they are too embarrassed to admit it.
But the truth is that no credible journalist covering Celtic transfers has confirmed that we are being seriously linked with him. My immediate reaction? Don’t believe a word of it.
That sounds like what agents and other interested parties come up with when they try to create a market for their player. Sure, he meets some criteria, but I’m not convinced he’s what we need, especially when it comes to replacing Matt O’Riley.
I guess anyone who thinks there’s any truth to this Hannibal rumor should take a closer look, because I doubt there’s much truth here, although given the bizarreness of this window, you just never know.
My gut feeling, however, tells me I should file it under “fiction” – just as Trump’s advisers should do given his own Hannibal fixation.
