According to the latest reports from the Scottish Sun, Celtic have yet not given up on signing Atlanta’s right back Timothy Castagne. The Belgium international has been linked with the club for quite some time now, and Celtic had even made an approach for him in the January transfer window. The player stayed put with Atlanta, but now he could be sold in the summer as he will enter the final year of his contract soon.
It is believed that the defender will cost somewhere around the £10m bracket, but his price could fall a little in the summer. This should come as big news for the Hoops as they had tried their luck in signing him but failed in the process. The Hoops went on to sign Jeremy Toljan on loan from Borussia Dortmund in January, but the German has been unable to impress at Parkhead.
So much so that Mikael Lustig won back his place in the starting eleven when once it was thought that he is well past his expiry date. The Swedish defender is in the final few months of his contract, and as things stand, he will exit from Parkhead in the summer.
From the fringes of the squad, Cristian Gamboa is also someone who is set to depart from the club so Celtic can end up losing three right backs in the summer. Therefore it is no surprise that the club is desperately searching for a right back.
What will Castagne bring to the table?
The 23-year-old can be a real long term option for the club and can solve their right back problems which have now persisted for close to a year now. Castagne is a typical modern-day full-back who likes to attack and has impressive pace which can cause trouble to a lot of Premiership defenders. Also, he is decent while tracking back and his defensive qualities make him a perfect option for Celtic.
Chances of Celtic signing him?
At the moment we feel that Celtic’s chances are minimal. Castagne had this to say in February when he was asked about his future and interest from other clubs in January. He had said, ”Celtic tried to buy me, but this is the best moment of my career, and I want to stay here. If you play trust increases. It’s natural. It’s also useless to talk about going to a Champions League or Europa League club because we at Atalanta would like to qualify.”
Castagne clearly indicated that he would like to play in the Champions League with Atlanta and the Serie A outfit are currently placed fourth, one point ahead of fifth-placed AS Roma. As things stand, they will get to the Champions League, and that can really put him out of bounds for Celtic. Nevertheless, the Bhoys should put in a bid to test Atlanta’s resolve in the summer.
