There were chants against the board as Celtic fell to a 4-1 defeat in their first pre-season friendly against Sporting CP on Tuesday. After a slow start to the summer transfer window, fans have quite clearly reached their limit.
So far, only Camilo Duran has arrived. The new striker joined from Qarabag and, to his credit, was the only bright spark against Sporting as he netted a debut goal.
It all feels too familiar for Celtic fans and their anger may have sparked the board into life in the transfer window and in the race to sign Mitchell Bakker. The Atalanta man looks destined to leave this summer and the Bhoys are now in pole position to secure his signature.
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Football FanCast’s Verdict |
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Credibility |
Celtic need signings and Bakker desperately needs a move this summer. Having launched an approach, the Bhoys are now in the strongest to land the versatile left-midfielder and could even land a cut-price deal now that he’s into the final year of his contract at Atalanta. |
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Finances |
The 26-year-old will be out of contract in 2027 and Atalanta are actively attempting to make a sale happen. After Celtic’s approach, it’s certainly a viable deal if a bargain price emerges which suits the Bhoys budget this summer. |
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Insight |
Bakker is a difficult player to judge. He spent much of last season on the sidelines with injury, missing 29 games in total. There’s clearly a talented player in there, however, and Atalanta were certainly pleased when they secured his signature in 2023. Since then, though, he’s made just 23 appearances for the first-team. |
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Impact |
It’s once again a transfer that won’t steal many positive headlines at Celtic. This is a player fresh from injury and form struggles and his arrival may spark more protest from supporters. |
On paper, a deal for the Atalanta man should be routine.
According to AtalantaOggi, as relayed by Sport Witness, Celtic are in pole position to sign Bakker and have launched an approach to secure his signature. Atalanta, meanwhile, are ready to sell their defender.
Why Celtic should end Bakker pursuit
It’s easy for Celtic’s board to spring into action amid the fan reaction to their pre-season friendly defeat. It’s even easier to sign a player who desperately needs a move, is out of contract in a year and someone that Atalanta are actively looking to sell. But easy does not necessarily mean right.
Bakker missed 29 games through injury last season and has only ever featured 23 times for Atalanta’s first-team in between a loan spell at LOSC Lille. There’s little evidence to suggest he would hit the ground running in Scotland.
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Mitchell Bakker injury history |
Games missed |
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25/26 – ACL injury |
29 |
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24/25 – Abdominal injury |
2 |
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24/25 – Muscle fatigue |
2 |
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21/22 – ankle injury |
11 |
If Celtic are to splash the cash this summer, then they must prioritise targets like Haissem Hassan, who enjoyed an excellent World Cup campaign with Egypt.
Celtic in talks to sign Hassan
Alongside Bakker, the Hoops have still very much got Hassan in their sights. Recent reports have even claimed that they’ve opened talks to sign the Real Oviedo man.
The Egyptian was the star of the show when his country almost caused the upset of the tournament against Argentina, only for Lionel Messi to do what he does better than anyone.
Fresh from La Liga relegation, the winger could be on the move to become Martin O’Neill‘s newest attacking star.
