Scottish Premiership giants Celtic have chiselled an excellent start to their league campaign by securing all six points from their first two games. The Bhoys outclassed Heart of Midlothian by a 4-1 score line last weekend and then, they clinched a 0-1 win at Firhill Stadium against Partick Thistle to make sure that they hit the ground up and running.
Having successfully lifted the Scottish Premiership title, League Cup and Scottish Cup last season, the Glasgow giants would be looking forward to maintaining their domestic supremacy and at the same time, make a stir in the Champions League as well. The Celts are due to face Kazakhstan’s FC Astana in the Champions League playoffs and the fixture is a hugely crucial one for them.
Brendan Rodgers hasn’t been really busy this summer in beefing up his arsenal, but with Kolo Toure retired and Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko injured, Rodgers is believed to be vouching for a centre-back at this stroke of hour. Apparently, a young defender in the shape of Rivaldo Coetzee has found a place on the radar of the former Liverpool boss, as The Scottish Sun reported.
Coetzee emerged through the youth ranks of Kalkamas Sundowns and Ajax Cape Town and was eventually promoted to the senior side of the latter. He cemented his place in the side of the Urban Warriors and was voted Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year last season. In order to taste new endeavours, he wants to leave (although he has two years of the deal left) and Ajax Cape Town have slapped a price tag of £750,000 on his collar.
Coetzee is one of the hottest properties for his club as well as for his national side South Africa and despite being a 20-year-old, he has garnered adequate experience with the national side. He might not be a tall defender, but he is a shrewd tackler and interceptor and definitely belongs to the category of ball-playing defenders. He doesn’t refrain from getting physical and has the right attitude in him to play in one of the elite leagues in Europe.
He failed to report for pre-season for his current employers and the fact that Ajax Cape Town’s manager Stanley Menzo has disapproved such a disrespectful activity, this event might put the deal in Rodgers’ court. Celtic do need to deepen their squad to withstand the rigours which they are due to face and getting someone like Coetzee would help substantially.
