You may recall that during the summer transfer window Brendan Rodgers tried with an ambitious move to sign Lazio winger, Gustav Isaksen…
The Celtic manager wanted to take the Dane on loan initially with the opportunity to make the move permanent if all went according to plan. That was rebuffed by the Italian side as they declined the offer from the Hoops and decided to hold onto Isaksen.
Celtic back in for Lazio winger
Now Il Messaggero in Italy have claimed that Celtic are once again in pursuit of the former FC Midtjylland attacker, with interest from Bologna too. The publication have stated that the Roman club still value Isaksen at €15M (£12.6M) and are unwilling to lower the price. If that were the case, it’s hard to see the Celtic powerbrokers having the appetite to meet those demands – especially with the rumoured return of Kieran Tierney and the potential outlay which will be required to get him through the door this January (if that is the plan).
With other items on the shopping list too and some becoming more prescient than others at times, any potential deal for Isaksen would depend entirely on his club lowering their demands, one would imagine. The player is a left-footed right-winger and so could theoretically cover both positions on the flanks. With decent pedigree to, it would certainly be a coup for the club if they could somehow make a deal happen.
A greater willingness to spend
However, with the need for a more physical midfielder alongside a striker and possibly left-back, it’s hard to see the club selling out that amount of money on one area of the team. You can just never tell in football sometimes, but with a myriad of factors going against this one, it’s hard to see it coming to fruition even if there is genuine interest on the club’s part.
Celtic has shown a new willingness to spend more than before in the summer with over £20m spent on Arne Engels and Adam Idah. So breaking the transfer record in January to bring in long-term target Gustav Isaksen isn’t completely out of the question.
Paul Gillespie
