According to a recent report by the Daily Record, Utrecht manager John Van Den Brom has tipped to Celtic to make another move for the services of their Dutch winger Gyrano Kerk when the transfer window reopens. It has been suggested that the Hoops have been interested in the speedster for a while now and that they even placed a bid for his services during the January window. Despite a reasonable offer from the Scottish giants, Utrecht are said to have declined the initial offer in a bid to keep the winger at the club.
The report suggests that Kerk insisted he wouldn’t have made a move to Glasgow anyway, as he was supposedly holding out on a move to an English club instead. With Celtic interested in Gyrano Kerk, Van Den Brom said, “At this moment there are no actual concrete offers for Gyrano, but Celtic were the club most interested. Lots of clubs asked about Kerk, but they never turned into actual offers. The only club who actually made a bid was Celtic. I’m surprised we did not receive more interest to be honest because he is a player who is constantly a threat and involved in most of our goals.”
What Is Celtic’s Current Situation In The Wide Areas?
The Hoops’ desire to sign a winger in January was no secret and having failed to do so during the winter, it’s likely that they’ll be after one before the commencement of next season. While some fans will argue that players like James Forrest and Ryan Christie have done more than enough in the attacking phase this season; the departures of Jonny Hayes and Mohamed Elyounoussi, added to the poor displays of Maryan Shved, should be enough to convince Lennon that signing a new winger is an urgent need.
Moreover, Daniel Arzani’s loan spell as a Celtic player is also drawing to a close in a few weeks, which means that they will be left with minimal options in the wide areas. The Manchester City loanee suffered two unfortunate ACL injuries and was only able to make one appearance for the Bhoys all campaign. Michael Johnston is another one of Lennon’s options in the role, but his inconsistency, added to the fact that the Scot is only 21, should close than avenue prematurely as well.
What Makes Gyrano Kerk A Good Option For The Celts?
The 24-year-old Dutchman had what can only be described as a quite sensational season in the Eredivisie this term. His 24 league outings for the club yielded ten goals and eight assists, which means that he didn’t make goal contributions in only a quarter of all the games he played in.
Capable of dribbling past the best of defenders using his pace and trickery, the Utrecht man has the physical attributes required to perform in the gritty nature of Premiership football. At the end of the season, Kerk had managed to pick up a record of 11 goals and 12 assists from 30 fixtures across all competitions.
Celtic Interested In Gyrano Kerk: Should Lennon Revisit This Dutch Speedster?
The Celts’ desire to acquire a new winger hasn’t come as a surprise, as it is arguably the position where they most need to sign reinforcements prior to next season. Kerk, with his general flair and finesse on the ball, would tick a lot of boxes for the reigning Scottish champions. With Neil Lennon’s side preparing for the season that could end up being their record-breaking tenth straight title win, the addition of a player like Kerk is exactly what they’ll need to add more energy in the final third of the pitch.
