Anthony Joseph has confirmed that Genk have made a bid for Celtic target Mark McKenzie from Philadelphia Union. The Belgian outfit have made a £3.6m bid for the 21-year-old and hope to have a deal done to bring him to the club in the January transfer window.
However, The Sky Sports man Joseph has confirmed that the Scottish Champions are yet to make a bid but they could in fact be priced out of a potential deal which would be a major missed opportunity as Joseph states that Celtic could have had him for cheaper in the summer.
Not if they don’t bid! And could well be priced out now. They had a great chance in the summer to sign him for significantly less than that, but opted to go for Shane Duffy on loan.
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) December 29, 2020
McKenzie spoke about Celtic in a recent interview with Sky Sports’ Joseph last month and now The Scottish Champions will need to act if they want the USA International.
“I’ve done my fair share of research and I’ve always loved football so I’ve known about Celtic for a while.
“You hear about Celtic and the path of Virgil Van Dijk – going from there to the Prem. I’m no dummy when it comes to understanding the leagues. I have a general idea of what the leagues look like and keeping up with who is at the front of the pack in the league race and tournaments.
“I know about Celtic and the league – and a lot of other leagues. But it’s an exciting time, though.”
Celtic could still sign McKenzie, who is yet to agree any switch to Belgium, but will need to be quick to agree any deal as the price will continue to go up for a player that’s stock is on the rise.
Shane Duffy was the preferred signing in the summer but on an expensive season-long loan deal the better deal would have been to sign McKenzie instead of the Ireland captain. It is likely, though, that Celtic would have reaped the benefits of a Premier League defender coming to the club but unfortunately, Duffy has taken a while to settle into the Premiership.
