According to the latest reports from the Daily Mail, Celtic are exploring a deal for Bournemouth’s forward Lys Mousset. The Cherries rate the forward in the £10m bracket and Celtic are unwilling to splash that much for the 23-year-old. The Hoops can look for a player plus cash deal to bring the former France u-21 international at Celtic Park.
Mousset made 24 appearances in the Premier League this season, but he only managed to start one of those games. It is believed that Mousset will be willing to move to Scotland for regular game time. He has been impressed on how the careers of Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard progressed while playing for Celtic and the forward is willing to make a switch to Parkhead.
Bournemouth are said to have an interest in Celtic’s star fullback Kieran Tierney, but the Hoops will not involve him in a deal. Therefore it remains to be seen which player the Bhoys will offer if they want a player plus cash deal for Mousset.
Mousset joined English club Bournemouth in 2016 from Le Havre. However, the Cherries have some terrific forwards in the form of Callum Wilson, Joshua King and Dominic Solanke. Therefore the Frenchman is likely to find starts few and far between even in the next season.
Why Celtic need a striker?
Celtic smashed their all-time transfer record last summer to sign Odsonne Edouard. The Frenchman did a decent job, but he has been injury prone. As a result, he missed quite a few games this season. The Hoops went on to use Oliver Burke in the first few months of the year as the striker, but he is expected to return to West Brom after his loan spell expires. Leigh Griffiths too decided to take some time off football this season.
However, he is expected to be available for the next season, but it would be interesting to see whether he would get back to his former self.
Is Mousset good enough for Celtic?
The Frenchman’s stand out attribute is his pace and physicality. He would be a handful in the Premiership, and one can see him hitting the 15-20 goal mark if he settles in at the club. However, the price tag is going to be a slight issue as Celtic are unwilling to break their transfer record by spending £10m on him. If the Hoops can get the price down to 6 odd million, then it could be considered as a good deal.
