It appears the days of Anthony Ralston in the Ange Postecoglou era – in which there have been lows and very certainly some highs – are almost over.
It is no secret that Celtic have been after a right-back ever since Jeremie Frimpong’s transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in January for a fee upwards of £11million. The gap, which has been one of Celtic’s strong points down the years with Frimpong and Mikael Lustig – was plugged with the temporary arrival of Everton’s Jonjoe Kenny until the end of the season; with the league pretty much wrapped up by them down the road at this, there was no need to spend big on a replacement at this point as long as an adequate fulfilment was bought in summer.
Yet, here we are at the start of August and not only has Kenny gone back to Merseyside, but there still hasn’t been a permanent Frimpong replacement. Yes, Ralston has come in and (for the large part) exceeded his seemingly miniscule expectations; but for a side who were so mediocre last season and need to get back to winnings ways, the implemented strategy hasn’t been helpful at all.
This may all be about to change though, with Daily Record journalist Scott Burns claiming that Celtic have finally agreed a deal for their long-term target, Aurelio Buta. The 24-year-old has been rumoured to cost around £3-4million, and although Burns hasn’t disclosed the price of the fee agreed, it will likely fall into this region given how stingy the Celtic board can be at times.
Celtic have agreed a deal with Antwerp. Agreeing personal terms with the player has been the issue. He is not looking for bank-breaking money either. https://t.co/MsZPy9HKeu
— Scott Burns (@ScottBurns75) August 3, 2021
The Portuguese youth Internationalist started his career with Benfica, until his release in 2017 saw him join Belgian side Royal Antwerp, where he has made 90 league appearances at the age of just 24.
