Scott Allan chose Celtic over Rangers, now the hard work begins for him

SCOTT ALLAN must be a brave man.

Rangers have missed out on their number one signing target, his choice of Celtic as new employers rubbing salt in their wounds.

Hibs have seen their Championship challenge diminished through the loss of their best player.

They have got Liam Henderson in as part of the deal, but that will only marginally soften the blow.

Ultimately it is the 23-year-old Allan himself who is going to have to live with the consequences of his decision.

As a lifelong Light Blues fan, he surely knows what he has done.

The Ibrox support, of which he was part, will regard him as nothing more than a turncoat.

His move to request a transfer in the wake of successive failed bids from Rangers signalled a clear desire to move to the club.

The Light Blues’ faithful know he could have waited out Hibs’ “we-won’t-sell-to-Rangers” stance for a year to join for nothing under free agency next summer.

And that he could have rejected Celtic’s approach to ensure himself hero status on Glasgow’s south side.

I also believe that the judgement from fans of his new club is not going to be kind, either.

Many of them will see him as a mercenary Bluenose.

So if things don’t go well, Scott Allan has a real test of his mental strength ahead of him.

At the moment, Rangers and Celtic are in different divisions. But in a year’s time, he could easily find himself asked to run out at Ibrox in a Premiership fixture.

If selected.

Don’t forget Allan has joined a squad with no shortage of attacking talent.

Stefan Johansen, Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven, James Forrest, Kris Commons and, for the moment anyway, Anthony Stokes, are all contenders for the three advanced midfield roles.

At Hibs he had an elevated status as a player, acknowledged as the club’s best and, last season, the Championship’s most exciting talent.

At Celtic he is going to have to scrap for every opportunity.

So will he be good enough to justify the gamble he has taken?

It is a question that has run in tandem with speculation over the midfielder’s future over the last few weeks.

Having learned the answer to the first question, I believe we will soon also know the answer to the second.

Allan once again has access to regular top-flight football and more enticingly for the player, I am sure could soon be playing against some of the world’s very biggest clubs.

Whether Celtic will compete in the Champions League or the Europa League group stages remains to be seen.

Either way, they have some massive matches ahead of them.

I think Allan is a talented young player. But as to whether he is going to be good enough at European level, I am just not sure.

This is a guy who failed to make it in England with West Brom, after all.

So why have the Hoops bought him now?

Clearly Rangers fans will say it has been done for devilment. That they have signed him because they can and the Light Blues can’t.

There might be something to that. They know the rivalry will be back soon enough, so moving to deny Mark Warburton the services of his top target must have held some appeal.

One argument I haven’t seen made yet amid all the hullabaloo is that Celtic have actually moved to help Rangers get up to the Premiership and get money-spinning Old Firm games back on the agenda.

That by buying Hibs’ best player they have deliberately weakened the club who are the biggest threat to a Rangers’ title win, and made it more likely they will be champions.

Remember where you heard it first!