Alex McLeish will study Bobo Balde in training for Birmingham City target

May 22 2009 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Mail

Balde has rigidly stuck to the smallprint in his £28,000-a-week contract, much to Celtic’s frustration, and the Hoops’ desperation to offload the defender has seen him play just four first-team games in the last two years.

His stance has seen him gain Franck Queudrue-style cult status among many Celtic supporters, who regularly chanted ‘Bobo’s gonna get ya’ during his heydays at Parkhead.

Marseille-born Balde, who once famously said ‘I am the chief executive of Bobo Balde FC’ during one round of negotiations, has largely been left to train with the youth team since being dumped from Gordon Strachan’s plans.

However, he hasn’t once thrown a tantrum, despite Celtic’s attempt to send him back to France to train on his own, and is even rumoured to have installed a state-of-the-art gym at his Lanarkshire house at a cost of £50,000 in order to keep himself in top condition.

The whole fiasco has been of greater embarrassment to Celtic rather than Balde himself, although both parties are likely to breath a sigh of relief when his contract comes to an end this summer.

Although it will be a tough ask given his lengthy spell on the sidelines, if Blues can get Balde back to his peak then they will have a more mobile version of the recently-released Radhi Jaidi.

And just like the Tunisian, Balde is capable of weighing in with his fair share of goals.