Celtic are reportedly preparing an offer to sign a £15,000-a-week player who was recently in advanced talks with rivals Rangers.
Celtic and Rodgers eyeing “ready-made” player
The Hoops and Brendan Rodgers are yet to complete an outfield signing this summer, with goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo the only two official arrivals at Parkhead.
Celtic are expected to secure the permanent services of midfielder Paulo Bernardo, though, following a successful loan spell from Benfica last season.
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He could be an excellent addition for the Parkhead side.
There could be more to come after Bernardo, with Rodgers admitting back in February that the club want to be “brave” and target “another level of player” who is “ready-made”.
“I would go with supporters thinking we could maybe be a little bit braver in terms of bringing in another level of player. But that’s up to me to try and fix that over the course of my time here. You look at the strategy here and you have to be careful because in some ways it has worked. You bring in players for a minimal fee and then they go out and make the club a lot of money.
“What I want to hopefully balance in my time here is that we can still do that, because it is an important part of the modern game. But we also want to be brave enough to hang our hat on a ready-made player.”
Recent targets linked with moves to Celtic Park are Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland after his prolific form in front of goal, whereas Wolves full-back Hugo Bueno is also wanted on loan.
Now, it appears as if Celtic are readying a permanent offer to sign a Manchester United midfielder.
Celtic preparing Hannibal Mejbri offer
According to reports in Tunisia, relayed by Sport Witness, Celtic are ‘preparing to make an offer’ to sign Man Utd’s Hannibal Mejbri. The offer in question is expected to be a permanent bid, with the 21-year-old into the final 12 months of his Old Trafford deal.
Should Celtic sign Mejbri, on £15,000-a-week, they could deal rivals Rangers a real blow, with reports recently claiming that those at Ibrox were in advanced talks to sign the Tunisia international who was a priority target for Philippe Clement.
Mejbri, who can play as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder or right-winger, could be on the way to Parkhead instead, going off the recent update, although he is on United’s pre-season tour in the USA.
The Red Devils man recently went on loan to Sevilla and prior to that, impressed with Birmingham City, where former manager John Eustace said: “The way he has played in the last couple of games has been phenomenal. He has broken records for total distance [covered], all that kind of stuff.”
A move could be one to keep an eye on, with Mejbri potentially offering Rodgers a versatile midfield option who could go from strength to strength in Scotland.
