Transfer Update – Celtic’s Vinicius Souza chase could be at an end after Anthony Joseph’s update, reports Paul Gillespie….
It would appear the plot thickens when it comes to the possible destination of Lommel player and 60% City Group owned Vinicius Souza. After all the chatter about the Brazilian with new teams vying for his signature, it has now been reported that Espanyol and Real Betis of Spain have approached the Belgian side with an offer.
Anthony Joseph has been keeping us all abrest of developments in regards to the Souza situation this summer, and now he has given the message via Twitter tonight that the Celtic target has been the subject of a loan bid by the La Liga sides. This comes amidst the interest in the midfielder reaching fever pitch over the last few days to a week.
The added sting in this particular tale however, is that Joseph also reported back that the City Group would prefer a straight up loan deal, with no option-to-buy included in a prospective short-term contract. This is almost certainly the nail in the coffin as far as Celtic’s interest in the player is concerned. Both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota joined the club on loan deals last year, but both contained the option of a purchase with a price pre-determined.
A loan deal for a year would only leave us chasing our tail no matter how good the Samba star was in a hooped jersey. Without the possibility of a permanent transfer, it makes no sense for Ange and Celtic to indulge in such a temporary filling of such a crucial position on the football pitch. City look as if they’re keen to see how he develops and may be eyeing him for Fernandinho’s place further down the line at the Etihad.
For now, we dust ourselves down and move onto our other targets. I’m sure Ange Postecoglou has a plethora of good, strong and undoubtedly talented individuals on a list at Lennoxtown HQ. It’s just a case of honing in on his preferred candidate now that the chase for Souza would seem to be over – unless something drastic were to happen in the meantime.
Here was the full update on social media from Anthony tonight:
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UPDATE: Espanyol and Real Betis have made loan offers for Lommel SK defensive midfielder Vinicius Souza.
City Football Group would prefer a straight loan, with no option-to-buy clause, as they’d rather not sell. https://t.co/3it6RII9s0
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) July 5, 2022
Paul Gillespie
