It looked like that Celtic had sealed the deal but their move for the highly-rated striker has fallen through at the last moment.
It had looked like Celtic had the move in the bag. But things can change very quickly in football and that looks like what has happened in this case.
Celtic had managed to agree a three-year deal with highly-rated striker Stefan Nikolic. The Australian had looked like a natural goalscorer Western Sydney Wanderers’ Academy team, scoring 36 goals in just 25 games. And he was clearly someone worth taking the gamble on.
Although it was never officially confirmed by Celtic themselves, the news was broken by The Scottish Sun. And those claims were backed by Western Sydney Wanderers’ Academy director, Ian Crook:
"“Celtic have landed a real talent. Stefan is an out-and-out goalscorer. He has just finished his third season with us.“He’s got terrific potential and can finish from many different areas.”"
He was expected to join up with the Hoops after travel restrictions were lifted. But it is clear that the striker has changed his mind about joining Celtic in that time and has instead decided to stay on with the Australian side as reported by the Daily Record.
While the reason behind the change was not revealed, it might very well be the fact the 17-year-old did not want to leave behind his family and move to a different country when so much else is going on around the world. Or perhaps he just thought he had a better chance of breaking into the first-team at Western Sydney Wanderers.
Whatever may be the case, Celtic will be disappointed to miss out on someone who has shown so much potential in the youth levels. Especially after having lost so many youngsters of their own in this transfer window.