Celtic submit bid to seal O’Neill’s first signing

Will it be a case of one-season wonder for Benjamin Nygren at Celtic?

Fresh from his 21-goal heroics last term, 16 of which came in the Premiership, the Swede is now attracting a wave of interest, ahead of a potential swift exit from Parkhead.

Reports have even claimed that personal terms are close to being struck with Tottenham Hotspur, the 24-year-old likely to fetch in the region of £25m if he is to depart after just a year in Glasgow.

That would mark a sizeable profit for a player who cost just £1.7m initially, the left-footer already one of the few transfer success stories over the last few seasons at the club.

Hopefully, there will be more to come on that front this time around.

Celtic set to lodge new bid for first O’Neill signing

Martin O’Neill’s confirmation as the new permanent Celtic boss hasn’t been followed by anything concrete on the transfer front, with there seemingly more to be said in terms of outgoings right now.

Nygren’s future appears uncertain, as too does Arne Engels, with the Belgian playmaker attracting significant Premier League interest himself ahead of the start of pre-season.

One potential replacement for the pair could be Motherwell’s Elijah Just, with interest from the Hoops ramping up with regard to the emerging World Cup star.

The same is also true with regard to Sandefjord defender, Zinedin Smajlovic, with journalist Rudy Galetti revealing that an improved bid for the centre-back has been made by the Glasgow giants.

According to Galetti, the initial offer is around €4.5m (£3.5m), with fixed add-ons of roughly €2m (£1.5m), albeit with the Norwegian side not believed to be under pressure to sell.

There is also the small matter of mounting rival interest, with Rangers and Hull City among the clubs to have lodged enquiries of their own of late, suggesting that striking a deal could be anything but routine.

Why Smaljovic could be an exciting Nygren repeat at Celtic

Raiding the Scandinavian market has been a fruitful venture for Premiership clubs of late, with Just and Claudio Braga arriving from Denmark and Norway, respectively, last summer.

That pair may have been considered the breakout stars of the campaign, but Nygren was a real sensation in his own right, following his move from Nordsjaelland.

A relative unknown at the time, the free-scoring playmaker went on to finish second in the top-flight scoring charts, while now starting at a World Cup for his country.

Such an astute, bargain signing has shown that there is still a pathway there for players to thrive and flourish at Parkhead, boosting their status in double-quick time.

The hope will be that Smajlovic, still just 22, can enjoy a similar rise if he is to follow Nygren in making the switch from Scandinavian football.

Another relatively young talent with plenty of room to develop, like Nygren, the Stockholm-born centre-back could at some stage be lining up alongside the Celtic man at international level too, having turned out previously for Sweden’s U21 side.

Back at club level, Smajlovic initially emerged at local side Taby FK back in 2023, scoring five times in just his first 13 senior games for the club.

A towering, 6 foot 3 brute of a defender, he then endured a brief stint at Italian side Lecce, before returning to his homeland with Sandviken in 2024.

He has now been with Sandefjord since last year, racking up 39 appearances across all competitions thus far, scoring twice and registering three assists.

Like Nygren, he has proven himself already to be something of an attacking threat even from a centre-back role, with even his spell at Sandviken yielding two goals in only ten appearances.

Named after the great Zinedine Zidane, the Swede is a powerhouse asset but one who can also carry the ball out nicely from defence, having notably averaged 8.2 ball recoveries per game in the Eliteserien in 2026, alongside a stellar 1.3 ball recoveries per outing.

For comparison, if you take Cameron Carter-Vickers’ record during his last full season in 2024/25, the United States international was only averaging 4.4 and 0.1 for those same two metrics, respectively.

One area of concern might be his desire to prioritise a progressive, perhaps risky pass, having lost the ball 14.8 times per game this season, but he is a player used to being heavily involved, averaging 90.6 touches so far.

For context, in 2024/25, Carter-Vickers lost the ball just six times per game on average, with 116.5 touches averaged too.

Even so, there is an elegance to his game that is to be admired, with it easy to see why so many clubs are chasing his signature.

Hopefully, it is Celtic who can win the race, able to secure a perfect Nygren repeat after the Swede’s success in 2025/26.