According to the reports from Daily Record, Celtic’s pursuit of Ismaila Soro has recently hit a snag. The same outlet had mentioned a few days back that Celtic had accepted a £2m deal for the Ivory Coast midfielder. However, now it is being reported that there is a dispute between the player’s representative and his club Bnei Yehuda.
The reason for the roadblock
Soro’s representatives are believed to own a percentage of the player and are negotiating the amount they will get from the transfer fee. The Israeli club released a statement recently and said, “It’s impossible to know at the moment whether Ismaila Soro will be in the squad for our next game against Hapoel Kfar Saba on Monday or not.”
So the arrival of the midfielder is stalling and for no fault of Celtic’s at the moment. The Hoops would hope that the player’s representative and his club would come to an agreement soon. Celtic have already agreed on personal terms with the player.
We still have two weeks remaining in the January transfer window, so there is still enough time for this dispute to be solved. Soro had managed to establish himself as a crucial member of the first team at Bnei Yehuda when it was initially thought that he might take some time to thrive. The 21-year-old has made 23 appearances in all competitions for his side, and he emerged as a crucial player in the defensive midfield role.
Celtic would hope that Soro would turn out to be another shrewd signing. The Bhoys have targeted the Israeli league off late, and they have managed to discover some good gems. Versatile defender Hatem Abd Elhamed had arrived in the summer who did well at centre back and at right-back before injuries brought him down.
What are Soro’s qualities?
The Bhoys are not in a desperate need to add a defensive midfielder as Scott Brown is still going strong. However, the club needs to be on the lookout for his long term replacement. Soro is a dynamic midfielder who is known for his energy and commitment. He can go into crunching challenges and is known for his tackling and interception abilities. However, the African ace is more than just a midfield disruptor as he has decent technical ability on the ball.
The Premiership will undoubtedly test him physically, but Soro seems to have what it takes to thrive at this level. Hopefully, from Celtic’s point of view, the dispute between his agent and Bnei Yehuda is sorted in the coming few days.
