Neil Lennon has provided a double transfer update that will excite Celtic fans as they hope the club build the strongest possible squad for next season’s 10IAR challenge.
Celtic have been very active already in their transfer dealings although they have managed bring in anyone yet. Instead, the focus has been on letting go of players with no future at the club as they clear up space to bring in new faces with 10IAR up for grabs next season.
With this goal in sight, they have already let go of Eboue Kouassi, Jonny Hayes, Jozo Simunovic and Calvin Miller. Players like Jack Hendry, Liam Burt and Craig Gordon also seem headed for the exit door. And with the exception of Jonny Hayes, Celtic fans will probably be happy with all these departures as none of them played an important role in the team.
It will be interesting to see though how many players Celtic can actually afford to bring in in the transfer window considering the massive losses that they have suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the global pandemic. Even then Neil Lennon seems to be hoping to bring back the Southampton duo of Fraser Forster and Mohamed Elyounoussi, who spent the last season on loan at Parkhead.
As reported by BBC Sport, the Celtic manager said:
"“They’re two players we’d dearly love to have for next season.“I don’t think it’s unrealistic. They added a lot last year and made a really positive contribution.“But we’ll just have to wait and see. They’re not our players, we’ll see how negotiations go.”"
Fraser Forster was a huge success upon his return to Celtic, firmly establishing himself as the man between the sticks once again. And failing to sign him on a permanent basis would be a huge blow to the club. Mohamed Elyounoussi also showed huge promise after joining the club but the second half of his season was crippled by nagging injuries. There is huge potential in the winger though.
The most important factor in all of this will be the transfer fee that Southampton demand for the duo. But considering the fact that Lennon believes that a deal is not impossible, one can only hope that negotiations are going far more smoothly than first expected.