Celtic 'to consider' big summer transfer for MVP midfielder as club set to miss out on rising star
The Celtic midfielder has been linked to a major summer transfer interest.
Celtic are bracing themselves for summer interest in key midfielder Benjamin Nygren—though only blockbuster bids will turn their heads, according to reports.
The 24-year-old has been a shining light in a difficult season for the Scottish champions after joining the club for a bargain fee of just £1.7million from FC Nordsjælland in the summer. Celtic’s top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, reports claim the Celtic Park hierarchy are keen to keep hold of the Swedish international, but have become aware of emerging interest from the English Premier League.
With just 11 league games to go, Celtic are six points behind league leaders Hearts and are in serious danger of losing their Scottish Premiership crown. Manager Martin O’Neill has insisted he will step down in the summer regardless of the season’s outcome, meaning big decisions over the club’s next manager, chairman, and director of football this summer are already looming, and a summer bidding war for Nygren is unlikely to be encouraged as they look to keep a hold of their key players.
Signing a contract until the summer of 2029, when he arrived in pre-season, Celtic are certainly under no pressure to sell the Swede, and are believed to have made it clear he is not for sale. However, it is claimed that “lucrative” offers could prove difficult for the club to resist.
O’Neill’s side fought off deadline day interest in Belgian international Arne Engels from the English Premier League recently, rejecting a mammoth £25million bid from Nottingham Forest in the final hours of the window earlier this month, proving that the club won’t allow their star players to leave without a fight.
Having opted to sack Sean Dyche a few weeks after the transfer window slammed shut, it is currently unclear whether Forest will retain their interest in Engels in the summer. However, with the club just two points clear of the relegation spots, new head coach Vítor Pereira will first need to keep them in the English top flight before he maps out plans for the next transfer window.
Meanwhile, Celtic look set to miss out on highly-rated teenage defender Harris Afzal after both themselves and fierce rivals Rangers were beaten to the punch by EFL Championship playoff hopefuls Southampton. The 16-year-old Queen’s Park left-back is viewed as one of Scotland’s most promising youngsters, with both Glasgow giants said to be keeping tabs on the player alongside a number of clubs across the border in England.
However, it appears that Southampton have won the race for his signature after he was allowed to open talks with the Saints over a move to St Mary’s following a successful trial period. With the second-tier side considered to have one of the country’s most successful academies, reports claim Afxal and his representatives are now locked in talks over a transfer, with a deal possibly finalised over the next week.
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