According to the reports from Goal, Celtic are in a race with Besiktas and Rennes to sign Everton’s winger Yannick Bolasie. The 30-year old’s career is said to be away from the Merseyside club this season as he is not in Marco Silva’s plans anymore. The Congolese international has already spent his time away from the club on two loan deals.
Bolasie came close to joining Russian outfit CSKA Moscow, and they had reportedly agreed on a fee for him. However, they failed to agree on personal terms as Bolasie wasn’t too keen on playing in Russia. An initial loan deal was agreed with a £5m option to make it permanent in the next season. Celtic are looking for something similar for the attacker.
Does Celtic need wingers?
We expect Celtic to invest some of the money they received from Kieran Tierney’s sale to Arsenal. Everton signed Bolasie for a whopping fee of £25m, but he never managed to establish himself at Goodison Park. The 30-year-old likes to play on the left flank, but he can easily fit in as a right-winger as well.
Celtic does have a weakness on the left as Sinclair and Lewis Morgan have been below par in the last few games. We think that Lennon particularly doesn’t trust Sinclair and the winger has featured sporadically since he took over in February. Michael Johnston seems to be the best bet currently to play down the left, but many would feel that Celtic need to add more quality even though they have options for the left-wing role.
What will Bolasie bring to the table?
The winger got famous for his displays at Crystal Palace where he tormented his opponents down the flanks. Who can forget how he ruined Calum Chamber’s career as a right-back? His physicality and outrageous skills made him tough to defend against as he often went past his man for fun. Bolasie’s dribbling skills were some of the best in the business, and he can pull off some eye-catching moves. Along with that, the winger is known to be a hard worker off the ball as he is always willing to trackback.
There is no doubt to us that he would be a top addition for Celtic even though he is 30 right now. Bolasie’s end product can be an issue sometimes, and there would be days when he would let down everyone by trying one trick too many. The winger played a decent role for Aston Villa and Anderlecht on loan as he managed eight goals and eight assists last season. The Congolese can take the Premiership by storm and can be a game-changer with his pace and skills.
