According to reports from Romanian media outlet GSP as cited by Daily Record(11:56), Celtic have submitted a £3m bid for Cluj’s forward Billel Omrani. The striker played a big part in knocking Celtic out from the Champions League qualifiers as he scored a brace in their 4-3 win at Parkhead.
Omrani scored nine goals and provided 15 assists last season, and that shows that he is more than a goal scorer as he gets his team-mates into the game as well. Reports from GSP had earlier emerged that a team for Scotland and Israel were interested in him. Now it seems that we have a name for the interested club and Celtic seem to be in a race to sign him before the window shuts down.
Why will he be an ideal signing for the Hoops?
It is being said that Omarani is in a contract standoff with Cluj at the moment and that might help Celtic secure the 26-year-old forward’s future. The Hoops have got three strikers at the moment in the form of Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Issouf Bayo. Given that the Bhoys usually deploy the one striker system, they have decent depth for that position. However, the drop in quality from Edouard to others is quite significant, and we have seen that the Frenchman is a bit injury prone.
Moreover, Omrani is a versatile attacker, and he can feature on the flanks as well. Given Lennon’s reluctance to use Scott Sinclair and the underwhelming performances of Lewis Morgan, Omrani would definitely be an ideal signing for the Hoops.
Cluj meanwhile missed out on Champions Lague qualification as they lost to Slavia Praha over the two legs in the playoffs. However, Omrani has had an eye-catching campaign so far as he has come up with eight goals and three assists in 14 appearances this season. The French forward is contracted to stay at the club until 2021.
What will he add to Lennon’s team?
The 26-year-old emerged from Marseille’s academy where he made ten senior team appearances for them before being shipped away. The striker is known to be an impressive finisher, someone who plays with intensity and has that doggedness to his game which will always keep the defenders on edge. Omrani is also able to link up play well, and he is known for making runs in between the channels.
We think that he would be a decent signing for the Hoops once he settles in at Parkhead. It remains to be seen whether the £3m bid would do the trick or not.
