The transfer window officially opened on Friday but for now, it remains quiet at Celtic Park.
The Hoops have compiled a list of targets and a new goalkeeper to replace the recently retired Joe Hart is top of Brendan Rodgers’ wishlist. The Parkhead boss would like a new No1 in the building by the time the Scottish champions return for pre-season in a couple of weeks and as Football Scotland first revealed, Sparta Prague goalie Peter Vindahl Jensen is their main target.
Celts are also in the market for another left-back and central defender, while the Double-winners are also keen to bolster their midfield and attacking options. Talks are ongoing with Benfica and Norwich City as Celts seek to sign loan stars Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah on permanent deals but a couple of other names have also been linked. Here, Football Scotland rounds up the latest news and rumours.
Dominik Livakovic
A name familiar with Celtic fans, Livakovic was heavily linked with a move to Parkhead last summer before eventually joining Fenerbahce in a £7million deal from Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatia No1 enjoyed a standout season with the Turks, who narrowly missed out on the Super Lig title to Galatasaray.
However, eyebrows were raised last night when the 29-year-old once again found himself the subject of transfer speculation as Turkish outlet AS Marca claimed Celts had launched a £7.7m bid for the shotstopper. Our advice is to take these reports with a pinch of salt, as the same media outlet bizarrely claimed last year that the Hoops had tabled a £5m bid for ex-Rangers star Ryan Kent.
As aforementioned, it’s Football Scotland’s understanding that Celtic chiefs are currently locked in talks with Sparta Prague as they attempt to thrash out a deal to land 26-year-old stopper Jensen.
Scott McKenna
One link that just won’t go away is Scott McKenna. The centre-back is a free agent after leaving Nottingham Forest and admitted last week that he’d consider a return to the Premiership. The former Aberdeen star isn’t expected to sort out his future until he returns from the Euros with Scotland but has confessed in the past to being a Hoops fan.
Rodgers also attempted to lure him to Parkhead during his first spell in Glasgow, only for the Dons to reject Celtic’s offers. The manager could now land the 27-year-old on a free transfer and Pittodrie legend Willie Miller reckons it’s a “no-brainer” for the Glasgow giants.
He told the Celtic Way: “Any player coming through from the development squad and who manages to make it into the first team at Aberdeen usually has good habits and is brought up with them. I am sure Celtic players are brought up the same way but looking at the kind of person that Scott is if he does sign for Celtic then he is not going to cause you any trouble and he is going to give you everything that he has got.
“He is a 100 per cent type player and he possesses a lot of ability and fantastic pace. He has developed into a real asset to anybody who can persuade him to join their club this summer. From that point of view, if Scott is on a free transfer then it would be a great move for Celtic if they could persuade him to come to the club and it is a bit of a no-brainer.”