Celtic could secure the transfer of Diego Laxalt from Europa League rivals for a bargain price of just £4.5million, according to a report this evening on Football Insider.
The 24 times capped Uruguay international has been a huge success in his early appearances for Celtic, despite having to wait until his fourth match to experience a win. His performance last Thursday away to Lille was particularly impressive and he also played very well at Hampden on Sunday as Celtic booked their place in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts next month.
Laxalt was signed from Genoa for £13million back in 2018 but has been unable to establish himself in the AC Milan team. And the report on Football Insider claims that by the time the January window open the Uruguayan left back’s value would have dropped to to just £4.5million as he will only have 18 months remaining on his contract.
Greg Taylor was the first pick left back at the start of the season and that was after Jonny Hayes had been allowed to leave in the summer. Then Boli Bolingoli ruined his Celtic career with his outrageous breach of the coronavirus regulations. However the former Kilmarnock defender was less than impressive in the advanced wingback role that Neil Lennon was deploying at the start of the season and the Celtic manager made his move to bring in the loan signing from Milan on the last day of the transfer window on 5 October.
At that time Celtic were apparently pushing to secure an option to buy at an agreed price at the end of the loan period.
If this report is accurate – “A recruitment source has told Football Insider that Milan value Laxalt at around the £4.5m mark ahead of the January window” – then Neil Lennon will surely be looking at secure Laxalt on a permanent contract as Celtic at last seem to have found a solution to the loss of Kieran Tierney.
