If Celtic intend to turn ‘positive’ scouting reports into genuine transfer interest in Velez Sarsfield left back Francisco Ortega, it now appears £3.4m will be the asking price, yet tough competition in the shape of Portuguese giants Benfica awaits.
That’s according to Portuguese publication Ojogo who advise both on the asking fee and how Rui Pedro Braz, Benfica’s sporting director, has already made his way to Argentina.
The full back only turned 23 in March, and already has 91 appearances – and 10 assists – under his belt with his club, with Copa Libertadores experience as well as domestic Argentinian domestic performances already bagged.
The player also has some level of versatility in his armoury, and whilst 80 of his appearances have come in his favoured left back spot, Ortega has also performed eight times at left midfield and a further three times as a left winger, something that may well appeal to Ange Postecoglou.
At international level the player has a further 15 appearances made, 12 of which came at Under 20 level, but more recently two more for the Argentina under 23 side, before his inclusion in the Argentina Olympic squad also saw him pick up a cap there, and that would certainly indicate that at club and international level Ortega is making steady progress for one so young.
Celtic have already been linked with a left back in the shape of Hammarby’s Iraqi international left back Mohanad Jeahze, however Ange Postecoglou appeared to not even recognise the name of the player when quizzed at a recent press conference, but with links to Ortega coming from the normally reliable Stephen McGowan at the Scottish Daily Mail l there may well be some merit in Celtic’s links with this particular left back, with Celtic clearly looking to add competition for Greg Taylor ahead of next season.
If Ortega is the target, it will mean going head-to-head with Benfica on this one. And whilst not an impossible barrier to overcome it certainly means Celtic face tough competition. However, if you are targeting top quality players, keeping company with the likes of Benfica is certainly a sign you’re doing your doing something right in the scouting department, that’s for sure.
Niall J
GET YOUR INVINCIBLE T-SHIRT NOW FREE WITH MATT CORR’S BRILLIANT BOOK
You want one of these? It’s completely FREE when you purchase INVINCIBLE from Celtic Star Books website, just click on the t-shirt below to order your copy and when you do select the size you want from small, medium, large, XL or XXL and add that after your name so we’ll know which size to send you…
Introducing The Celtic Star App and our new ad-free Premium Service...
Go ad-free on The Celtic Star, get a FREE trial period to try it out. Also download our new App – available for both Apple and Android – and get the best Celtic content on your phone without fighting through pop-up ads and being forced to watch videos.
Our new PREMIUM service comes with a free seven-day trial so you can look before you book. If you are happy to continue the price will be just 99p per month or £9.99 for the year. For that you get an AD-FREE SITE plus access to our premium content, and you’ll also help us make The Celtic Star even better and less reliant on advertising revenues, allowing us to be more focused on publishing the best Celtic features on the internet.
Click HERE to access your FREE trial. We think you’ll like it! We’re Obsessed with Celtic and we think you are too! Join us hand in hand...
