DJEIDI STEADY BRO: WATCH GASSAMA GO

‘But don’t do too well’ jokes Celts fan and mentor Barry

- By Andy Newport

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY skipper Barry Bannan is the first to admit he’s got mixed feelings about Djeidi Gassama’s move to Rangers.

As club captain at Hillsborough, he grew so close to Gassama that he came to regard the 21-year-old French winger as a little brother.

Naturally then, Bannan would love nothing more than to see his friend smash it in his native Scotland.

But that’s where the Celtic-daft midfielder is conflicted because, if Gassama goes on to fulfil the huge potential Bannan has seen brewing down in Yorkshire, it might just threaten the era of dominance his Parkhead heroes have built up this past decade.

It was that dilemma Bannan had to grapple with last week as he bid farewell to the PSG graduate at their St George’s Park training camp, which coincidentally was where Russell Martin’s Gers squad were based too.

“I was really close with Djeidi,” said the 35-year-old former Scotland international.

“We had a laugh and a joke when the deal was completed last week at St George’s Park. I wished him all the best.