Celtic News Round Up - 23/08/21 - 27/08/21


Celtic news round up - Week beginning Monday 23rd August

The final full week of the transfer window was an eventful one as far as Celtic are concerned. There was one official signing along with countless rumours and speculation about possible incomings and outgoings. The club also secured Europa League group stage football on Thursday. 


I mentioned Celtic officially announced the capture of a player this week and that was Liam Scales. The Irishman joined on a four year deal from Shamrock Rovers. Another player who could sign for Celtic imminently is Georgios Giakoumakis. Several journalists have reported this such as Anthony Joseph, Giannis Chorianopoulos and Duncan Castles. They all state the fee is in the region of €2.5 million - €3 million. Giakoumakis was the Eredivisie’s top scorer last season however his goal record prior to that campaign is concerning, in my opinion. 


The player or players Giakoumakis would be replacing are Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths. The former is reportedly keen to join Dundee with the newly promoted Premiership side interested in a loan move for the striker according to The Sun. Anthony Joseph backed up the outlet by saying the Dee have made a loan bid for Griffiths. Going back to Edouard and it seems like now or never for Celtic to make big money on the Frenchman. It looks like the three main teams battling for his signature are Rubin Kazan, Everton and Bordeaux. This is according to Sky Sports man Kaveh Solhekol who Tweeted “Rubin Kazan have made €18m offer for Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard. Proposing to pay in three instalments of €10m and €4m and €4m over 12 months. Bordeaux also willing to pay €18m for the player”. You’ll most likely remember Rubin Kazan as the team Celtic signed Swedish defender Carl Starfelt from. However, a few hours after this news was announced, Vladislav Zimagulov, a regular insider for Rubin Kazan news confirmed this to be wrong. Solhekol though, claimed later on Everton have sounded out Celtic over a potential deal for Edouard. 


I briefly mentioned Celtic’s European adventure this season in the preamble of this article. The Hoops defeated AZ Alkmaar 3-2 on aggregate despite losing 2-1 on the night in the Netherlands on Thursday and as a result, made sure of a place in the Europa League group stages for the 21/22 campaign. The Bhoys will now face off against Bayer Leverkusen, Real Betis and Ferencvaros in the group stage Europe’s second tier competition. Sticking to the topic of football internationally and a number of Celtic players were called up to their respective national sides for the upcoming break. Greg Taylor, Callum McGregor, David Turnbull, Ryan Christie and James Forrest will all be part of the Scotland team that will play Denmark, Moldova and Austria. There is also a circle of other players who have been called for their countries. I will list them below. 


Carl Starfelt - Sweden 

Conor Hazard - Northern Ireland 

Kyogo - Japan 


As is the case most weeks, a former Celtic target gets contiguous to joining a team other than the Hoops. Striker Thomas Henry joined Venezia and right back Brandon Soppy is close to joining Udinese according to Fabrizio Romano who said “Udinese are closing on Brandon Soppy deal with Rennes, agreement to be signed and completed soon. Now planning for medicals, done deal”. It doesn’t look like Kevin Nisbet will join Celtic with the impending arrival of Georgios Giakoumakis. Hibs are looking to reward the striker with a new contract and uplift in wages as per the Daily Record. 


We know Leo Hjelde has been close to leaving Celtic for a few weeks now. The Norwegian put pen to paper on a four year deal at Elland Road as he joined Leeds United. Ryan Christie’s future is continuously uncertain. The Scot has just six months left on his current contract and it feels like he’s been attracting interest from numerous sides throughout the current transfer window. Burnley are set to up their interest before the end of the window according to Scott Burns. Southampton are another teams that have been mentioned as a potential destination for Christie although TalkSport journalist Alex Crook says Southampton have no interest in Ryan Christie. 


We’ll end my final news round up of the summer with a few pieces of news about the centre back position. Ange Postecoglou still wants a central defender to bolster his squad along with a striker and versatile midfielder. Although he wouldn’t be a first team option, Celtic are reportedly interested in 16 year old Dundee United defender Kerr Smith. Leeds, Leicester and Crystal Palace are also in for the Scot. The Sun claimed this although the Daily Record said the next day the Hoops are unlikely to make a move for Smith. Kristoffer Ajer departed Celtic permanently for Brentford earlier in the window. At the time of the transfer, the fee was believed to be worth around £13.5 million although the Daily Mail said this week it was significantly higher than this at £17.5 million. This is a tremendous piece of business from Celtic for a player who had just 12 months left on his deal. 


That’s all for this week in terms of Celtic news. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my weekly Celtic News Round Ups. As mentioned, this is my final one of the summer. Deadline day is on Tuesday and I’m certain Celtic will have a couple more players in the door by midnight on the 31st of August. 


Once again, thank you very much for reading this article. It is greatly appreciated. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Josh_Footblog. 

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