Giorgian De Arrascaeta, the Uruguayan attacking midfielder was linked with a move to Celtic Park in the summer transfer window. The attacking midfielder currently plays for Cruzeiro which is a top division side in the Brazilian league. However, the Hoops were seemingly put off by the steep price tag of the midfielder as the South American club was demanding £18m for their prized superstar.
De Arrascaeta had a fruitful World Cup with Uruguay, and maybe that was the reason why his current club demanded such an exorbitant price. It was reported that Brendan Rodgers had asked his scouts to keep track of the Uruguayan. The 24-year-old would most definitely add excitement in the attacking third of the pitch as he is skilful, creative and also has a goalscoring threat to his game. But can Rodgers afford him? That seems to be the real question here.
We might not have a definite answer to that, but the club did make some good money by selling Moussa Dembele on the last day of the window for £20m, so maybe they can afford to shell out £18m for this attacking outlet. The Uruguayan is not going to be an out and out replacement for Dembele, but he is undoubtedly going to give them the attacking edge in the final third which the Frenchman often provided.
The signing of the midfielder would also show intent on the part of the owner and manager and could issue a warning to their major rivals that the Hoops are not going to surrender their domination just like that. The talk of the town has recently been about Rangers’ resurgence under Steven Gerrard after they made it to the group stages of the Europa. However, this signing would definitely deflate them.
The midfielder has enjoyed a decent start to the season as he has already scored three and assisted five goals in 9 starts. He is also nominated for the 2018 FIFA Puskas awards which would be given later this year when the Ballon d’Or winner would also be decided.
Now the move might entirely depend on how the Hoops play from now until the January transfer window. We believe, the Hoops signed a replacement for Dembele even before selling him by securing a permanent deal for Odsonne Edouard from Paris Saint Germain. It would be interesting to see whether the team would carry that same attacking threat without Dembele. If the team struggles to reach the level which they were hitting with Dembele, then they should consider signing someone like De Arrasceta as the Uruguayan has all the facets to his game which would make him a big hit at Park Head.
