Neil Lennon announced yesterday that Christopher Jullien faced up to four months out after sustaining a knee injury in the win over Dundee United on Wednesday. It was Jullien’s replacement, Nir Bitton, who was sent off in the game at Ibrox yesterday and was likely the catalyst for Rangers getting ahead in the game.
Celtic will need to both prepare for next season but also get defensive cover for Jullien. This allows an opportunity to enter the market for a defender that is promising for the future – Mark McKenzie fits that bill. Neil Lennon has confirmed to Glasgow Live that Celtic will look to sign another central defender and McKenzie looks set to leave Philadelphia Union this month.
“It is an area where we will probably look to bring someone in. He is going to be out for a few months. He has ruptured ligaments in his knee. Obviously that was a blow coming in to the game but I thought we were good.”
McKenzie is currently expected to sign for Belgian side Genk; however, no deal has been finalised leaving Celtic able to mount a bid this month in an attempt to resurrect the deal for the American defender.
In which Genk sporting director Dimitri de Condé says the Mark McKenzie deal isn't done yet. Hmm.
I heard from too many people yesterday that it's done to believe that it's going to fall apart.https://t.co/Faw8g9Zvnq https://t.co/LTejR82aeK
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) December 30, 2020
At just 21-years-old, McKenzie has bags of potential but the experience in the MLS to hit the ground running. Celtic appeared to be a promising option for both parties offering him a platform to play in Europe and compete for trophies. The £3.6m bid from Genk is yet to be officially accepted so Celtic can still rectify their summer oversight by swooping in and signing the player. Celtic could have upped the bid in the summer but opted to go for Shane Duffy on a season-long loan deal from Brighton.
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 bigger league.
