Martin Boyle continues to be linked with Celtic but a report claims that there have been no offers submitted for the 28-year-old winger. Edinburgh Evening News report that there have been no offers for the Australian Internationalist with Hibs looking to conduct their business early in the transfer window with Shaun Maloney looking to create the team in his image.
The Hibs winger scored 15 goals last season and impressed as the Easter Road outfit finished third. This year, he has continued this excellent run of form, netting 14 times including a hat-trick against Rangers at Hampden. He put the ball into the box for Paul Hanlon’s goal in the League Cup Final last month, where Celtic ran out 2-1 winners.
Celtic have been long-time admirers of Boyle but given that he will turn 29 in April, it is unlikely that Celtic would sanction a bid for the player, especially with permanent talks ongoing regarding a deal to sign Jota from Benfica. Liel Abada, James Forrest, Mikey Johnston, Daizen Maeda and Karamoko Dembele can all play on the wings and another winger may not be at the top of the manager’s priorities as he tries to sign Jota as well as Cameron Carter-Vickers on a permanent basis.
Boyle had a release of just £500k in the summer but Celtic opted against activating it and new terms were agreed. The new fee mentioned is fair given Boyle’s role in the Hibs team so far but it is unlikely that he would replicate that in the Celtic team, meaning that the fee is not justifiable. On a cynical level, Hibs may be drumming up interest in the winger as they look to bankroll Maloney to bring more players in.
