According to the reports in CNN Turkey, Celtic are interested in signing Red Star Belgrade’s centre back Srdjan Babic. The report adds that Turkish heavyweights Besiktas are currently leading the race to sign this 6ft5inch star as they want him as a replacement for Domagoj Vida. To go with that, Monaco, Nice and Feyenoord are also interested.
Therefore it isn’t going to be straightforward for the Hoops to lure the centre half as quite a few teams are interested in him. The Serbian defender’s contract with his current team is until 2021 and the report doesn’t mention how much the defender can cost in the summer.
Celtic are likely to go through an overhaul at the back as the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Filip Benkovic, Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa are all in the final few months of their deal with the club. Boyata has been the backbone in the heart of the defence, and Celtic should be ready to splash some cash to bring in a top-class replacement.
Babic’s aerial prowess would definitely make him a quality addition for the Hoops in the Premiership. He is a decent defender with the ball at his feet, but one wouldn’t exactly put him in the ball playing defender category. Babic has so far made 22 appearances in all competitions this season and has even managed three goals.
Celtic’s goal would be to go for 10 consecutive Premiership titles but it seems like the 9th one could be the toughest to achieve. Rangers have improved under Gerrard even though they are still some way off from winning the Premiership title this season.
However, they are likely to improve further in the summer and Celtic are likely to go through some overhaul of their squad. The managerial position is also not yet certain as Neil Lennon has been appointed as an interim manager only. So the upcoming summer transfer window is going to be a crucial one for the Hoops.
Babic would be a decent addition but as we mentioned we aren’t sure about the price yet. If the defender is available under £5m, then he would be a decent addition. However, Celtic shouldn’t pay more than £5m for him. On the contrary, we would say that they should make a move for Tomas Kalas as their first priority as the Czech defender is a much more proven quantity and has that little bit of more experience. However, even Celtic aren’t going to find it easy to lure him as well as Bristol City want to sign him again after his loan spell with them expires.
