Director dismisses move for Celtic outcast – Brendan Rodgers will need new solution to get rid of player
Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of talk regarding Lecce being interested in Celtic’s Gustaf Lagerbielke, who is on the periphery of Brendan Rodgers’ plans at Parkhead.
The center-back was signed in the summer, but he hasn’t played much for his new team, which is why there was talk in January that he would leave, if only temporarily.
However, Lecce was always reported to be having financial difficulties funding any deal that Celtic would sanction. Now, however, Pantaleo Corvino, their technical director, appears to be implying that a move for Lagerbielke is unlikely, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.
The publication swiftly shifts its focus to the defense after discussing what Lecce would do in the last moments of the transfer window.
There, they explain that Corvino has ‘admitted that he is not looking for other central defenders’, which has come as a bit of a surprise before of the recent ‘talk of interest’ in the Celtic defender.
“We have dependable players like Pongracić and Baschirotto who deserve the starting role,” the director declared. Next up comes Touba, a participant in the Africa Cup of Nations. Additionally, we may rely on Blin to fill that position, and a young player from 2005 named Sebastian Esposito may enter from the Primavera.
That means that if Brendan Rodgers truly wants to get go of Lagerbielke, he’ll need to come up with another plan, as opposed to wanting to thin up his defence.
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Good news :Celtic have made approach to sign ‘excellent’ £15k-per-week player
Celtic are looking to bolster their forward department and have enquired about Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt, according to transfer expert, Dean Jones.
The Bhoys have had a mixed campaign so far and Brendan Rodgers will be looking to sculpt the squad to his taste. The Hoops are leading the Scottish Premiership table by eight points, but the gap could be closed down to two points only if Rangers win their game in hands.
While Matt O’Riley and Kyogo Furuhashi have impressed this season, Rodgers will be worried about the inconsistent form of some of the other forwards. He will looking to add one more attacker to the ranks, and has earmarked Gelhardt as a potential option.
The likes of West Bromwich Albion and Scottish rivals Rangers are also keen to sign the “excellent” attacker who is on £15k-per-week deal at Elland Road.
Jones suggests that Celtic will probably look to sign him on loan.
“I guess it’d be a loan move. Gelhardt would be a nice profile player because he seems ready to perform on the right platform,” Jones told GiveMeSport.
“He’s got excellent traits that probably need a bit of development now. I’m not surprised that enquiries are being made on both fronts from Rangers or Celtic at this moment in time. For a player like Gelhardt, it’s probably confidence-boosting to have those conversations happening around you right now. Whether they can come to fruition and turn into a transfer is different, but I don’t think it’s harming anybody to look at that situation.”
Celtic have already bolstered the squad this month by signing Rapid Vienna winger Nicolas Kuhn, who arrives at Parkhead for £3m. However, Gelhardt would be a cracking signing.
The Leeds attacker has managed only two starts in the Championship this season. When Gelhardt first arrived on the scene under Marcelo Bielsa, the club didn’t want to sign new strikers mainly because they feared that it might hamper his growth.
He still remains as someone with bags of potential but has been below par under Farke. A move to Celtic Park could be ideal for his growth.
