Scottish giants Celtic have had some serious issues with respect to meeting their central defensive needs so far this season. The Celts were without the services of Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata earlier this campaign, which forced Brendan Rodgers to station the likes of Nir Bitton, Mikael Lustig and Kristoffer Ajer at the heart of his defence.
Of late, reports had emerged that Simunovic has sustained a hamstring injury, which ruled him out of Bosnia’s World Cup qualifiers against Belgium and Estonia. With some crucial fixtures coming up, the ongoing international break should enable Rodgers in pencilling his targets for the January transfer window and here are three central defenders he can possibly sign to solve his woes.
Axel Tuanzebe (Manchester United):
Tuanzebe is one of the highly rated starlets of Manchester United’s renowned youth setup. Jose Mourinho does have adequate world-class resources at his disposal, which implies that a quality youngster like the 19-year-old should be targeted by the Bhoys to prise him out of the Old Trafford.
A loan move to the Celtic Park, once the January transfer window opens, should start a decent endeavour for the Englishman, as Tuanzebe needs to get more game time under his belt to take his career to new heights and in the process, he can assist Celtic during the second half of the season.
Malang Sarr (Nice):
Nice finished 3rd in the Ligue 1 table last season and one of the young guns who thrived meticulously was Sarr. The 18-year-old saw his stocks rise after 27 appearances which he garnered under his belt, whilst which he showcased immense grit, composure and resilience at the central defensive slot.
The former Liverpool boss has shown his inclination of working with youngsters and thus, Sarr could be a stupendous addition to his arsenal. He has already established his stature with the senior side of Nice and his move to Celtic could solve the defensive crisis of the Scottish champions.
Marc Oliver Kempf (SC Freiburg):
SC Freiburg’s centre-back could also be an option for the Hoops during the January transfer window to beef up their defensive setup. Kempf has already piled on more than 50 appearances in Bundesliga and despite being a 22-year-old, he has proved his mettle for quite some time now.
Interestingly, his contract expires next summer and given the fact that Celtic are a massive club, they can definitely attempt to seize him away in January.
