After their Scottish Premiership triumph last season, Celtic are looking to solidify their position at the summit of Scottish football by bringing in a number of new players this summer.
Schmeichel just the start of Celtic’s summer plans
The big news out of Parkhead is that Brendan Rodgers seems to have finally found the man to replace the retiring Joe Hart this summer. A report on the X account of Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Celtic are close to announcing the signing of Kasper Schmeichel with the free agent set to join the Glasgow outfit on a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.
At 37 years of age, the veteran keeper brings with him a wealth of both international and domestic experience, in particular his key role in Leicester City’s Premier League winning campaign in 2015/16. The Danish shot-stopper will be a familiar face for the Hoops boss who managed the keeper for numerous seasons at Leicester.
Other recent rumours have linked Celtic with a move for Middlesbrough ace Riley McGree. A report this week claimed that Ange Postecoglou attempted to bring the Australian to Parkhead during his tenure at the club and that the Hoops will look to reignite this interest over the course of the summer transfer window.
The interest in McGree has likely come off the back of growing rumours linking Celtic star Matt O’Riley with a move away from the club this summer. Leicester appear to be the current front-runner for the Danish midfielder with a fee in the region of £25 million said to be enough to tempt O’Riley away from Parkhead this summer.
With Celtic showing no signs of slowing down this summer, it now appears that the club have set their sights on their next target with a signing set to be announced next week.
Celtic want backup option before pre-season starts
As first reported by Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Celtic are working on signing a second goalkeeper. The outlet claims that the Hoops are in talks for a second keeper who can act as a backup to new number one Schmeichel.
O’Rourke goes on to state that the club expects this second deal to be completed before Celtic depart for their pre-season tour of the United States next week. It is claimed that the club want the new second-choice shop-stopper to embed himself within the Hopps’ squad before the start of the next campaign.
Whilst the name of this new signing is not yet known, the deal could be for one of the players previously linked with the club. Serbia keeper Martin Dubravka is one name that has done the rounds in Celtic circles in recent weeks, however, it is not known whether the 35-year-old would be interested in being a backup option.
Despite the identity of the player in question remaining unknown for the time being, Celtic fans may only have to wait a matter of days to find out who their latest signing is.
