Celtic are soon to be announced the Scottish champions for the ninth successive season following Dundee’s voting U-turn. The decision has led to a lot of controversies over the transparency of SPFL, but the Hoops are now one step away from scripting a historic ‘ten in a row’ Premiership triumph despite Rangers’ resurgence within the last couple of years.
They are actively pursuing several names to bolster themselves for the upcoming term, and according to Turkish outlet Karar, the Bhoys are set to lock horns with the Bears for the signing of Trabzonspor’s Caleb Ekuban.
Celtic and Rangers, the two famous Glasgow rivals might lose their key number nines in Odsonne Edouard and Alfredo Morelos this summer amid interest from a host of high-profile European outfits. They, therefore, are in the hunt for a quality alternative and the Ghanaian is reportedly one of the many names in both the club’s wishlist.
Career Highlights So Far
The 26-year-old progressed through the youth ranks of Chievo Verona but failed to break into their senior side. He had a few unimpressive stints in the lower leagues of Italy before leaving for Albanian outfit Partizani Tirana on a season-long loan back in the summer of 2016. There he exhibited an impressive scoring run that caught the eyes of the Leeds United scouts, and the Whites roped in the centre-forward immediately prior to the 2017-18 campaign.
Leeds were tipped to fight for a Premier League return after narrowly missing out a place in the playoffs the season before. But the exit of their forward Chris Wood left a void high up the pitch and Ekuban, who found the net on his debut in a League Cup tie versus Port Vale, broke his foot twice in the early months that led to lengthy injury layoffs.
His spell at the Elland Road was a nightmare with only one league goal in 20 appearances. He had no future under newly-appointed Marcelo Bielsa and was not even handed a jersey number before being offloaded to Trabzonspor on an initial loan (with an option to buy) deal.
Current Form and Why Celtic Should Consider A Move
Ekuban, meanwhile, regained his confidence in Turkey and is now leading their attacking line after completing a permanent switch last summer. He has fired in 8 goals and laid on six assists this term in 25 outings (stats via Transfermarket) before the suspension of the game in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ekuban found the net twice in 4 appearances for Ghana that include a debut goal against Kenya just over a year ago.
Leigh Griffiths has returned among goals after months of struggle, but neither Patryk Klimala nor Vakoun Issouf Bayo has done enough to impress Neil Lennon as of now. Edouard’s exit would be a big blow for the Northern Irishman, yet the pace, physicality and poaching traits of Ekuban might suit the demands of the Scottish football.
