Celtic weighing up bid to sign “electric” £12m star

We’re now just a week away from the start of Celtic’s pre-season fixtures.

Next Friday night, Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops will make the short three-mile journey to Glasgow’s south side to take on Queen’s Park at Lesser Hampden, having demolished the Spiders 6-4 in a friendly almost exactly 12 months ago.

After that, Celtic to Cork, Lisbon, the north of England and then face Ajax and either Al-Ahli or the hosts at the Como Cup.

So, just how many new signings will the Parkhead masses have the opportunity to cast their gaze at during these fixtures?

Celtic’s star attacker set to depart

Both returning hero Kieran Tierney and new third-choice goalkeeper Ross Doohan have already signed for Celtic this summer, with deals for Callum Osmand and Benjamin Nygren close to being finalised too.

However, due to Celtic’s position in the global football food chain, they’re always in danger of losing a star player, and this summer is no different.

As has been widely reported by Josh McCafferty of the National and elsewhere, RB Leipzig have ‘intensified their interest’ in Nicolas Kühn, who is supposedly available for around £15m.

Well, now, according to Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports News, Como have ‘made an approach’ as they target a move for Kühn.

I Lariani finished tenth in Serie A last season under Cesc Fàbregas, their first top-flight campaign since 2002/03, but are not your ordinary newly-promoted club, given that they are owned by the Djarum Group, making them the wealthiest club in Italy, as noted by James Horncastle of the Athletic.

So, potentially creating a bidding war could be good news for Celtic, as they seek to drive up the price for, what is set to be, one of their biggest sales of all-time.

Regardless, it appears very likely that Kühn will be sold in the coming weeks, so has Rodgers identified a potential replacement?

Who Celtic should sign to replace Kühn

As reported by Glasgow World, Aston Villa are open to selling youngster Louie Barry, to ease their ongoing concerns about breaching the Premier League’s Profitability & Sustainability Rules.

Thus, they add that Celtic are ‘weighing up a potential offer’ for the 22-year-old, given their long-standing interest in Barry, who they have been ‘keeping close tabs on’. Previous reports have suggested he could be available in and around the £12m mark.

Barry first made headlines by joining Barcelona’s fabled la Masia academy in 2019, before returning to England a year later, signing for Aston Villa for a reported £880,000.

He’s since been loaned out no less than seven times, making the biggest impression at Stockport County, scoring 24 goals in 43 league appearances for the club, with Sam Byrne of the Manchester Evening News describing his performances for the Hatters as “absolutely electric”, adding he “captured the imagination” of all supporters.

So, let’s assess his senior career statistics so far.

As the table outlines, Barry very much burst onto the scene at Stockport this season, scoring 16 goals in just half a campaign, before moving to Hull in the EFL Championship, featuring just four times for the Tigers before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Jack Manship of Total Football Analysis labels him a ‘highly-rated prospect’, while Mick Brown of Football Insider believes that Barry is ready to take the next step in his career and make a permanent move away from Villa.

Barry can be deployed centrally or on either flank, a position that Celtic might have vacancy to fill in the coming weeks, thus making him an ideal replacement for Kuhn.

The young attacker is certainly an extremely talented player, so the Hoops should do all they can to secure his signature, especially if they can do so at a reduced rate, with Villa needing to raise funds and fast.

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