CELTIC are apparently ‘all over’ Philadelphia Union;s central defender Mark McKenzie according to MLS correspondents Tom Bogert and Taylor Twellman. Twellman was commentating in Philly’s game against Ronny Deila’s New York City and suggested that the young defender was the subject of interest from the Scottish Champions. Bogert, who works for a variety of newspapers, took to Twitter to report the interest in the USA’s u20 captain.
McKenzie has a contract until 2022 with an option of a further two years meaning that should any deal transpire, Celtic would have to pay a fee to lure him away. However, as he is just 21-years-old, he may fancy a move to Europe with the prospect of Celtic offering him a platform to play in Europe and compete for trophies.
Celtic have previously signed two promising MLS starlets – Manny Perez and Andrew Gutman with the pair yet to feature. The MLS is becoming an emerging talent pool for Scottish clubs as they use their locality to South America to pick up promising talents. Homegrown talent like McKenzie are showcased in matches with certain quotas needing fulfilled of local players, allowing them to use their platform for a move to a larger club or bigger league.
