Recently reports from Football Scotland emerged that Celtic are looking to sign Ecuadorian midfielder Sergio Quintero. The midfielder plies his trade for Imbabura SC in Ecuador’s top flight. Quintero himself gave an update that he is in talks with Celtic over a possible move.
What the player has to say?
The 20-year-old midfielder said, ”I’m thinking about a move to European football. I’m trying to be calm about it and take it easy. The representatives of Celtic have been in talks for some time with the president of Imbabura. An agreement has to be reached this week if the transfer is to go through. It would be very difficult to adapt to life in a country like Scotland, but with time I think I would be able to settle in. I’ve already done English lessons – not a lot, but I have learned enough.”
It clearly seems like Quintero is preparing for a move to Celtic. However, Neil Lennon recently poured cold water to the player’s claims. The Northern Irish manager was recently asked about Celtic’s interest in the 20-year-old midfielder to which he said (Daily Record), ”Never heard of him. That’s names not cropped up at all, he’s not popped up on the radar.”
It’s a slightly weird situation as the player specifically mentioned that he has been in talks with the Hoops whereas Lennon just blatantly denied the move and even said that he isn’t even aware of the player. It’s tough to gauge who might be right here.
Where might Quintero fit in?
The midfielder was a star performer for his side in the recently concluded u-20 World Cup. The South American outfit reached the semifinals and finished third in the tournament. Quintero is a defensive midfielder who could have been a successor to someone like Scott Brown who is already 34.
Quintero has been nicknamed as ‘the Machine’ and is touted heavily in his homeland. Celtic have someone like Eboue Kouassi and Nir Bitton who are young and could look to replace Brown in the long term. However, both of them haven’t shown enough to convince most that they could fill the boots left by Celtic’s captain.
Our take on two contradictory statements
It seems unlikely that Celtic are interested in the midfielder as Lennon has previously made honest statements about links with possible transfers. The manager had indicated a few days earlier about the signing of Boli Mbombo before the official announcement was made, so we don’t see the reason why he would want to mislead the journalists now.
