Copenhagen’s right back Peter Ankersen has been on Celtic’s radar throughout the summer. Now Lennon’s path to land the fullback has been smoothened out as Ankersen is said to be heading for an exit. The Daily Record mentions that this could now open the door for Celtic to reignite their interest in the Danish fullback.
The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract, and club manager Stale Solbakken has said that the Ankersen is likely to leave the club in the summer. The defender is also a 22 times Denmark international and has been at Copenhagen for the last four years.
Celtic recently completed the signing of Hatem Abd Elhamed who is being seen as a right-back option. However, he is more of a centre back who can fill in at right-back. So we believe that Lennon is likely to bring in one more right-sided fullback this summer and Elhamed will be used more as a backup option for that position.
What to expect from Ankersen if he joins Celtic?
Ankersen was a regular for his Danish side last season and made 47 appearances in all competitions contributing with one goal and eight assists. The defender was a significant member of the team which won the Danish Superliga last season. The 28-year-old has previously featured for the likes of RB Salzburg, Rosenborg and Vejle Boldklub.
Given the clubs he has featured for, Ankersen has a fair bit of experience of the Europa League and even the Champions League as well. So Celtic will be getting a player who has performed at the biggest of occasions.
The defender’s standout attribute is his pace. He is known to be full of energy which enables Ankersen to make lung-bursting runs down the right. One area where he might struggle to cope up a bit is the aggressiveness and physicality of the Premiership which could be too much for the Danish defender.
Should Lennon go for him?
The Denmark international will be a safe and reliable option, but he is someone who is on a downward trajectory. He will be 29 soon and wouldn’t be around for long. Ankersen won’t be a bad signing, but Celtic can probably do better. However, if the Hoops don’t want to pay a bomb to land a reliable and experienced fullback, then Ankersen could be their man. With his manager claiming that the defender is set to leave, Celtic have a great opportunity to land him.
