Charlie Nicholas believes Celtic may have avoided an expensive lesson after missing out on transfer target Riley McGree.
The 23-year-old Australian chose a switch to Middlesbrough after appearing set to commit to the Scottish side.
Nicholas is certain boss Ange Postecoglou will be relieved to have found out his compatriot wasn't all in on his Celtic vision before he arrived, reports The Daily Record.
And the 60-year-old paid another glowing tribute to the Parkhead boss over his handling of McGree choosing the Riverside.
Speaking in his Express column, he said: "Celtic wouldn't have found out the lad's character had they not been involved in this transfer saga, so maybe it has worked out in their favour.
"Ange Postecoglou has won over the Celtic players and the last thing he needs is to have a player causing friction behind the scenes.
"People are buying into what the manager is doing, he has already won the first piece of silverware up for grabs and this Celtic squad is only going to get stronger.
"I liked the way Postecoglou dealt with the McGree transfer setback.
"He came out and made it clear that he is only interested in dealing with players who want to be at Parkhead. It was a thinly veiled dig at his young compatriot.
"McGree had looked destined for Glasgow until a last-ditch £5million package from Boro turned the playmaker's head."
And Nicholas is convinced more signings could be incoming despite Postecoglou's cautious message last week.
Celtic have added a trio of Japanese stars in Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, as well as rising Irish striker Johnny Kenny.
He said: "Postecoglou said last week that he has nothing else in the pipeline but I think he will do more business before the transfer window closes, especially if he offloads some fringe players."
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
