When Celtic were lining up potential targets for the right-back berth last summer transfer window, one name was linked consistently with the club – Yan Couto. The Brazilian was a player within the City Group whom Celtic have had considerable links with for years now, gaining from it on the recruitment side of the game sometimes.
Couto was a £6 million signing for Pep Guardiola’s side from Coritiba and was another who City bought and have never given a sniff of the first-team to in several years. The young full-back has saw himself at Girona and Braga for his sins whilst being on the books in Manchester since his arrival two years ago.
Last summer though, Celtic decided to plump for Josip Juranovic from Polish side Legia Warsaw and it’s unequivocally worked out. The Croatian international has gone from strength to strength in a Celtic jersey and therein lies the problem; teams are now watching the right-back as he grows into an international class defender.
There have been leaking reports that teams are watching Juranovic closely and that Atletico Madrid were even preparing a bid for him this close season. That seems to have been wide of the mark, although the interest in Juranovic will not go away it has to be said – especially not whilst he turns in performances like the one against World Champions France.
Whilst I’m sure everyone would agree that we do not want to lose our best players, it is also a axiomatic truth that football is a business and every player has their price. A sad fact about our game indeed. So, hypothetically, if Josip was to leave this summer then we would need a high-end replacement. And that is where Couto might come into the picture.
According to a report by Torcedores.com, Couto is unhappy and wants a permanent transfer away from City so he can continue to develop as a player.
Although it does mention that he would preferably like to move back to South America to be near his family. But with everything, there is always and element of compromise, as it also states he would like to be at a footballing institution that fights for titles year-on-year.
I’m sure we could be of some assistance if the situation called for a new right-back…
Paul Gillespie
