Celtic look set to miss out on Croatian U21 defender Mario Vuskovic with the Hadjuk Split starlet agreeing a switch to Serie A side Torino. Celtic were reportedly battling the Italians for the signature of Vuskovic as they look to rebuild for next season. The 19-year-old was reportedly the subject of a bid from Celtic last month, believed to be in the region of €5m Euros; however, Hajduk Split rejected that bid.
Now it appears the club are in a race against time with a move to Italy nearing. It will be a blow for Celtic as the player appears to have developed a reputation as one of Europe’s up-and-coming stars.
Vuskovic was part of the Croatia side that knocked out England in the U21s Euros group stages and he will likely take part against Spain in the next round. The sides are still thrashing out the agreement and there could be an opportunity for Celtic to poach the player.
Celtic could act swiftly to hijack the move to Italy, perhaps imparting to the youngster who the future manager will be as well as their reputation for cultivating talent.
Celtic have poached a centre back from Croatia before, taking Jozo Šimunović to Glasgow from the Croatian capital of Zagreb. The Croatian defender joined from Dinamo Zagreb in 2015 following Virgil Van Dijk’s departure for Southampton. Šimunović will be remembered for that tackle on Kenny Miller in the 5-1 win at Ibrox in April 2017 and he left the club having won five Premiership titles and a number of trophies as well.
