Eight times capped Guinea-Bissau defensive midfielder Alfa Semedo is the latest deep lying playmaker to be linked with a move to Celtic, with Portuguese outlet A Bola dropping Celtic’s name into a list of potential suitors for the Vitoria de Guimaraes midfielder.
Semedo is a well-travelled lad for a player who will only turn 25 in August, having played 16 times for Benfica, scoring twice, three times in La Liga with Espanyol, as well as having two spells in the English Championship with Nottingham Forest – where he played 26 times, scoring twice – and Reading, where he amassed 40 appearances and found the net on two occasions.
Benfica’s Portuguese midfielder Rafa Silva and Vitoria Guimaraes’ Bissau-Guinean midfielder Alfa Semedo (R) vie for the ball during the Portuguese league football match between SL Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes SC at the Luz stadium in Lisbon on February 27, 2022. ((Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)
The player has also turned out in Portugal for Moreirense FC where he picked up three goals in 34 appearances and most recently for Vitoria de Guimaraes where Semedo has played 31 games.
Semedo is contracted to Guimaraes until 2026 but A Bola is reporting the club are open to selling the player this season.
Vitoria Guimaraes’ Bissau-Guinean midfielder Alfa Semedo (L) vies with Benfica’s Portuguese midfielder Gil Dias during the Portuguese League football match between Vitoria Guimaraes SC and SL Benfica at the Dom Afonso Henriques stadium in Guimaraes on September 25, 2021. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images)
Celtic have of course been linked with other options for a No6 role in the Celtic squad, with the likes of Vinicius Souza being the most prominent of those linked lately, but also further connections made with both Kevin N’Doram and Mohammed Abu Fani.
That would certainly indicate a deep lying playmaker may well be a position the manager is keen to fill, and if that would allow Callum McGregor to move further up the field into a number eight role, such as the one vacated by Tom Rogic, then moves for a player operating in a deeper role would certainly make a lot of sense.
Whether that player turns out to be Semedo is far too early to tell at this stage, and although the player has picked up a great deal of experience across four European countries at this stage in his career, the fact he has moved around so much may also be considered a warning sign.
Niall J
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