Celtic are close to agreeing a £5m deal for Croatian U21 Internationalist defender Mario Vuskovic, according to Croatian media. The Hajduk Split starlet is highly rated in his homeland and Celtic look to have beaten off competition to sign him.
Sportske Novosti are reporting that the 19-year-old is nearing a deal and it may even be announced next week. The deal will earn the player around £13k-a-week and his advisors are pushing him to make the switch to Celtic.
Celtic news
As per SN, Celtic will soon confirm Mario Vuskovic will join from Hajduk as soon as Big Ange says yes. Fee will be £5m plus bonuses with salary around £13k a week.
— Richard Wilson (@timomouse) June 27, 2021
Vuskovic was part of the Croatia side that knocked out England in the U21s Euros group stages and is likely to attract interest from clubs around Europe, with Serie A side Torino said to have been extremely keen on launching a bid for the talented centre-back. A confident, ball playing defender, Vuskovic would certainly suit Celtic’s style of play.
▪️He’s a modern, ball playing centre-back. Likes to ping long balls and play out from the back. Can play as a RCB in a back 3 or back 4.
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) June 27, 2021
▪️He could have moved to Serie A, there were some concrete offers of €4M-€5M but nothing came up of it.
▪️If he joins Celtic, I can see him in the PL considering their scouts are very active there.
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) June 27, 2021
Celtic are likely to need two central defenders with Ange Postecoglou mounting a rebuilding job at the football club. Kris Ajer is expected to leave which means that just Christopher Jullien would remain as a first team central defender with O’Connor, Welsh and Bitton all capable back-ups.
Erik Sviatchenko has also been linked but there may also be something in targeting Vuskovic’s teammate at Split, Josko Gvardiol. The left-footed centre back is also just 19 but with four caps to his name, he (like Vuskovic) is likely to be hot property in the coming years… but that may be wishful thinking given his value. Lets hope Vuskovic gets over the line and we can get onto the next target.
