Celtic open talks for highly-rated left-back

With much discussion around whether Taylor or Bolingoli are the way forward it’s no surprise that Celtic are in discussions about offers for left backs.

There has been talk carried over from last season and into pre season about whether either Greg Taylor or Boli Bolingoli were really good enough to hold down the left back position. Neither quite seemed to fit the bill of a left back who could defend but also get forward as much as Celtic demand. Or in Bolingoli’s case whether he could actually defend!

According to Croatian media sources Celtic are in the market for a new left back.  Whether that’s to be back up or first choice,  after Greg Taylor’s assists and performance at the weekend, you’d have to wonder if this spells out the start of the end for Bolingoli.

While approaches for left backs come as no surprise then, this latest news doesn’t quite answer all the questions.

The reports are that Celtic have spoken with Hadjuk Split about their player David Colina. He’s by all accounts a talented 20 year old, and the Croatian club rate him highly with a price tag of around €6m. The talk is that Celtic haven’t yet made an offer but were indicating discussions would be around €3m.

Colina is a young player building a good reputation, he signed for Split from Monaco in July 2019 for €700k. Like many players, his appearances have been curtailed by disruption to football seasons this year. He was a regular for Split until the end of 2019 but slipped out of the first team selection in the new year.

An unused substitute for quite a few games up to March, he then had a better run of appearances through June and July, but never for a full game.  He has played at several international youth levels for Croatia, up to U21s last October. Colina has been used as a mix of left back and wing back which is likely to be key to Celtic’s interest.

There may well be truth in Celtic’s interest, the club should be following up on potential signings and players. But the talk of an offer of €3m doesn’t quite sound like the way Peter Lawwell operates, plus it’s more likely the current urgency is for a first team regular left back, rather than a project with potential.

While Colina may be one for the future it doesn’t sound as though he’s the needed for ten-in-a-row answer. Bolingoli needn’t pack his bags yet, though with Taylor’s improved performance and assists against Hamilton, he maybe wouldn’t want to be making any long term plans for Glasgow.