According to the latest reports, Dedryck Boyata is going to join Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin, a side that finished 11th in the league this season. The departure of Boyata shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of the Celtic faithful as it was expected that the Belgian would move out of the club.
Boyata had a decent season even though he had to face a considerable backlash in August last year when he refused to play for the Hoops in the Champions League qualifiers. The defender has missed the last month of football due to injury, but he played his part in what could be another treble-winning season for the club.
Signing a centre back should be high on the agenda of the Hoops as Boyata was a dominant figure at the back and here are three players which the Bhoys can target in the summer.
Scott McKenna
The Aberdeen centre half was linked with a move to Parkhead in the last summer transfer window, and Celtic had a bid of £3.5m rejected for him. McKenna did an excellent job for the Dons once again, and we think that Celtic should once again try to sign him.
The Scotsman has seemingly got everything to his game which is necessary to thrive in the Premiership. He is reliable and robust in his challenges and also reads the dangers well before they could develop. The defender is still just 22, and there is definitely room for improvement to his game. The Bhoys can have a long term centre back option if they sign the Scottish international in the summer.
Timm Klose
The experienced Norwich City defender is going to be out of contract soon, and he could be a safe bet for the Hoops. Klose played a crucial role for the Canaries in the Championship as they won back promotion to the Premier League by winning the second division title.
Klose is an experienced man with strong defensive qualities. Physically too he would be able to cope up with the challenges of the Scottish league and the Swiss international can turn out to be a shrewd signing.
Ciaran Clark
The Ireland international failed to get regular game time for the Magpies this season, but he has all the abilities to be a solid centre half for the Hoops. We feel the defender too might be on the lookout for a move away as the likes of Florian Lejeune, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles are ahead of him in the pecking order.
Clark can be a good ball playing defender as he can dictate play from the back and defensively too he has the abilities to be successful for a club like Celtic.
