Despite early hiccups, a revamped Celtic side have fought back under the stewardship of Ange Postecoglou. An array of new names were roped in during the summer window, including Cameron Carter-Vickers who has been ever-present in deep defence since completing his season-long loan move from Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs bolstered their backline back in August by securing the services of Cristian Romero from Atalanta. Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga have been the other central defensive options and the USMNT international, therefore, had little hope of attaining regular minutes in North London.
Although the Celts have an option to buy in the contract clause, Spurs are likely to demand a fee of around £10m as reported by Record Sport. The 24-year-old penned a one-year extension at the Lane to extend his stay until the summer of 2023 and the English hotshots are now playing hardball to maximize the profit.
Carter-Vickers progressed through the youth ranks of Tottenham before breaking into their senior side five years ago. But he only featured in a few Cup outings before being loaned out to Sheffield United, Ipswich Town, Swansea City, Stoke City, Luton Town and AFC Bournemouth over the years to grow his game in the English Championship.
Why Celtic Must Think Rationally Before Meeting Spurs’ Demands
Former Spurs chief Nuno Espirito Santo handed him a start in the UEFA Europa Conference League first leg tie against F.C. Paços de Ferreira earlier this campaign, but a transfer was sanctioned for the centre-half when Celtic inquired his availability. The young defender is enjoying his time at Parkhead with 19 appearances and has also admitted the possibility of making the switch permanent upon completion of the current season.
“It’s something that I’m open to but I haven’t given it much thought at this stage, to be fair. I still have plenty of games left in this season and that is my focus. I have really enjoyed it. The staff and the players have been really good with me and that’s helped me.”
Carter-Vickers told last week while discussing his future.
Celtic lost Kristoffer Ajer in the summer who completed a £13.5m transfer to newly-promoted Premier League outfit Brentford. Christopher Jullien is sidelined for a year with a knee injury and a major reshuffling was necessary to restore stability in the defensive third. Carl Starfelt was another major addition from Rubin Kazan, however, the composure, physicality and ability to play it out from the back make Carter-Vickers a perfect fit for ‘Angeball’. The Bhoys must do everything in their capacity to tie him down beyond the ongoing term but, at the same time, must think twice before splashing such an astronomical amount given the financial constraints in the wake of the pandemic.
