£2m star is very keen to officially sign for Celtic

Celtic officially confirmed earlier this week that Martin O’Neill has signed a contract to be the club’s permanent manager until the end of the 2026/27 campaign.

There is also the option for both parties to extend that deal for another 12 months if they get to next summer and decide that they want to continue the journey.

The Northern Irish head coach replaced Wilfried Nancy in January after the Frenchman’s dismal time in Glasgow and won both the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup in the second half of the season.

O’Neill was only in interim charge until the end of the campaign, with a view to the club going for a longer-term appointment, but he has now been signed up for a full season in charge.

Now, the experienced boss can plan for the upcoming summer transfer window to build a team that can compete domestically and in Europe next term.

£2m star wants to sign permanently for Celtic

Celtic beat Dunfermline 3-1 at Hampden Park in the SFA Cup final in their last outing of the season last month, but they are still looking to improve their squad despite lifting two trophies in May.

In fact, the Premiership champions are even considering a move to sign one of their loan players on a permanent deal ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

According to the Daily Record, Boca Juniors left-back wants to complete a permanent transfer to Celtic in the summer window after his loan spell came to an end.

The report claims that the full-back wants the club to enter talks to bring him back for a second spell at Parkhead, but the Hoops have yet to decide whether or not they want to do another deal.

It adds that a bid of around £2m would be enough to tempt the Argentine side into cashing in on the defender, which means that the club do not have to break the bank to sign him permanently.

O’Neill wants to work with the Uruguayan left-back again, having enjoyed his time with the full-back this season, but it is now down to the board to thrash out a deal with Boca Juniors before any rival clubs can swoop in.

Marcelo Saracchi could be Celtic’s next Jota

With this latest update, Saracchi could join a long list of esteemed Celtic stars who signed permanently after initially joining on loan, including current first-team star Jota.

The Portuguese forward is currently out with an ACL injury, but he initially joined on loan from Benfica in 2021 before signing permanently for £6.5m a year later.

Jota racked up 11 goals and 11 assists in the Premiership after signing permanently, before his £25m move to Al Ittihad in the summer of 2023, and Saracchi could sign permanently to provide quality in the squad next term.

Across his 18 appearances in the Premiership, the Uruguay international ranked incredibly highly in a host of key attacking metrics per 90 for the Hoops from a left-back position.

Just as Jota provided a regular threat at the top end of the pitch after signing permanently, Saracchi could offer goals and assists from a full-back role for O’Neill, as he loves to get forward to support the attack.

Whilst Scotland international Kieran Tierney is the first-choice option at left-back for Celtic, Saracchi has shown that he can provide great value as a rotation option or off the bench.

His impressive attacking numbers in the Premiership also suggest that it could be worth trialling him in a more advanced role, possibly on the left flank, to see if he can even be the club’s new version of Jota on the wing.

Irrespective of how any potential position switch goes, though, Saracchi would be a smart and cheap addition to the squad this summer because he knows the league, has proven himself in the Premiership, and would be a quality back-up for Tierney in the left-back role.

That is why the club must stump up the £2m that Boca Juniors want for the defenders to make him their latest Jota by signing him permanently after an initial season on loan.