There might not be any real interest from the Celtic camp, but ex-Hoops and Arsenal forward Charlie Nicholas has urged the Scottish giants to make a summer move for Eddie Nketiah. The youngster is contracted at the Emirates until the summer of 2022 and has rejected an extension offer as claimed by The Athletic in a recent report.
“I would try and get Eddie Nketiah from my old club Arsenal. He has been linked with West Ham United and teams in the Bundesliga and he is a really quick and exciting talent. He had a spell on loan at Leeds cut short because of injury but he is back fit and he is one I would look at either on a loan or a permanent contract if that could be done.”
Revealed Nicholas while discussing the Bhoys’ potential transfer strategy (The Scottish Daily Express (29/06, p57)) in the ongoing summer window.
Why Celtic Should Consider A Move For Nketiah
While the Hoops might re-sign Leigh Griffiths and retain the services of Albian Ajeti for one more season, the exit rumours of Odsonne Edouard must have left the fans sweating ahead of the upcoming term. Although his Leicester City move collapsed despite advanced talks, there is no shortage of suitors in Europe for the French hitman.
An impressive loan stint with Toulouse might see Vakoun Issouf Bayo returning to Ligue 2 to retry the promotion push. Club President Damien Comolli is keen on having him back at Stadium de Toulouse and the void high up the pitch, therefore, needs to be filled before they lock horns with Midtjylland next month in the Champions League qualifiers.
Nketiah first grabbed attention at Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa when they were chasing a long-awaited Premier League return. There he got deployed as a ‘super sub’ and scored a few crucial late goals as the understudy to Patrick Bamford. The 22-year-old got sporadically utilized by Mikel Arteta since January 2020 but is yet to cement a regular role in spite of finding the net six times last season in limited starts (30 appearances overall across competitions, stats via Transfermarket).
Arsenal, meanwhile, won’t let their prized asset leave for a minuscule figure and have set a valuation of around £20m as reported by The Sun. Celtic are not blessed to spend millions on Nketiah and should try their luck with a loan move if the contract conundrum is sorted in the coming days between the player and his current employers.
