Major details emerge about Celtic’s pursuit of Seria A star

The Serie A star has revealed that he had an offer on the table from Celtic but turned it down before completing a big money move in January.

Defence is an area that has been a major weakness of Celtic in recent months. Shane Duffy was brought in in January to soar up the back but has had an opposite effect. The Brighton and Hove Albion loanee has struggled immensely in recent months and might have even lost his place in the starting XI as Neil Lennon opted to go with Nir Bitton and Kristoffer Ajer in the heart of defence in their 4-1 win over Motherwell.

While it might be a bit too early to declare Duffy a flop, it is clear that a large portion of the supporters wish that the move had never happened in the first place. And one man who appears to have been an alternative option for the Hoops was current Napoli centre-back Amir Rrahmani.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rrahmani has revealed that he had received an offer from Celtic before eventually completing a £12 million move to Napoli:

"“Napoli have invested a lot in me. I had offers from Celtic and Standard Liege but in the end I chose to sign for Napoli. This is the most important step of my career.“They had a strategy to sell Koulibaly but the virus changed the scenario. I’ve been told that I’m still an important member of the squad and that my time will come soon.”"

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Considering the financials of the deal, it is unlikely that the Hoops would have managed to get that deal past the finishing line. That is simply not the kind of money that the club can afford to spend on a single player and it would have shattered their transfer fee record.

Somebody like Rrahmani would have been an excellent addition to the squad though. The fact that Napoli see him as a replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, one of the best defenders in the world, just speaks volumes about the potential that the man has.

There is no point thinking about what could have been though. As things stand, the Hoops have their own worries at the back, which have only been increased through injuries and players being ruled out as a result of the virus. Here’s to hoping though that they can put those issues behind them following the international break and come out firing on all cylinders.