Celtic are already putting in work behind the scenes ahead of the summer transfer window, despite it being unclear who their next head coach will be.
Martin O’Neill remains in interim charge until the end of the season, having been in place since Wilfried Nancy was sacked in January, and he will need to be replaced.
Former Spurs and Brentford boss Thomas Frank is reportedly one of the names under consideration, but there is no clear favourite at this moment in time.
Despite that, the Hoops are already doing work behind the scenes to identify potential targets, including Motherwell goalkeeper Callum Ward and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Alfie Devine.
They are putting together a list of targets so that the new head coach, when they finally arrive, can assess the options and decide which ones are best for their brand of football.
Celtic eyeing club-record deal for midfield star
It will be interesting to see what kind of money is spent on new recruits after the club did not spend any more than £5m on a single player last summer, having signed Arne Engels for a club-record £11m the previous year.
The Belgium international has scored 15 goals and provided 20 assists in 93 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops to date, and it was reported in February that Nottingham Forest were prepared to offer £30m for his services.
Now, the Scottish giants are looking at a player who could break their transfer record again, and they will be hoping that he could follow in Engels’ footsteps at Parkhead.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via the Daily Record, Celtic are one of a number of teams interested in a deal to sign Venezia midfielder Issa Doumbia in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that Club Brugge, Espanyol, and Southampton are also keen on the 22-year-old star, whilst adding that the Hoops have been watching him since at least December.
It adds that the Serie B outfit currently value Doumbia at a price of around £13m, which means that he would be a club-record signing for Celtic, surpassing the £11m that they paid for Engels.
If the Scottish giants can win the race with Brugge, Espanyol, and the Saints to secure his services, the Venezia star could be their biggest talent since Matt O’Riley, who joined Brighton for £25m in 2024.
How Issa Doumbia would be Celtic’s best talent since Matt O’Riley
As good as Engels has been, Celtic have not replaced the attacking output that O’Riley produced during his time at Parkhead. The Dane scored 27 goals and provided 35 assists in 124 matches.
The Belgian midfielder has only scored four non-penalty goals, whilst netting 11 times from the spot, in almost two full seasons in all competitions.
Doumbia, meanwhile, has scored nine non-penalty goals in 36 appearances in all competitions for Venezia in the current campaign, including seven goals in the Serie B, more than any midfielder has scored for Celtic this season.
|
25/26 Serie B |
Issa Doumbia |
Rank vs CMs |
|---|---|---|
|
xG |
8.14 |
Top 2% |
|
xG on target |
8.85 |
Top 2% |
|
Goals |
7 |
Top 4% |
|
Shots |
66 |
Top 3% |
|
Chances created |
50 |
Top 7% |
|
xA |
3.37 |
Top 16% |
|
Assists |
4 |
Top 14% |
The Italian starlet ranks highly among his positional peers in a host of key attacking metrics, whilst none of O’Neill’s current midfield options have provided consistent quality as an attacking outlet from open play.
Doumbia, therefore, could be Celtic’s biggest talent since O’Riley because he is a young and developing player who can catch the eye of bigger clubs by coming to Scotland to deliver goals and assists on a regular basis.
The 22-year-old talent is also an aggressive midfielder who offers qualities off the ball. He ranks in the top 2% of midfielders in the Serie B for possession won in the final third (25) and the top 15% for ball recoveries (130).
Meanwhile, Engels does not rank higher than the top 45% of Scottish Premiership midfielders in either statistic, and does not offer as much to the side out of possession domestically, as the Venezia star is more aggressive in the way he presses to win the ball back.
Celtic should consider going through with a £13m club-record deal for Doumbia because his offensive and defensive attributes suggest that he would be a star for the next manager, and possibly the club’s biggest talent since O’Riley because of what he can offer to the team.
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