Are the latest Celtic transfer rumours fact or fiction?

There will always be rumours about potential signings for Celtic. It’s no surprise to see more reports about goalkeepers emerging ahead of the January transfer window. But do these have any fact about them?

The first surely appears to be fantasy. Reports in the media continue to link Celtic to Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson. The Daily Star has the latest news.

Henderson is young, talented and highly rated. He was out on loan at Sheffield United where he earned rave reviews and was in the top three Premier League keepers in terms of clean sheets while there. That’s pretty respectable and makes him a good prospect.

Having returned to Old Trafford, he is still not getting much time on the pitch though with David De Gea still featuring as the first choice for the Red Devils. The story goes that Gareth Southgate likes him and has told Henderson he could be starting for England if he was able to get more regular games at club level.

Henderson will be keen to secure a playing position and the media rumours are that a loan move could be on the horizon. Celtic are reported to be a option for him. That’s all very well and could be relevant but there are a couple of factual barriers that make this a fantasy story.

Rumours of Henderson being on £100,000 per week would surely price him out of a deal at the Hoops, even if there was some contribution on those wages from the Red Devils. And then, with all appropriate respect to Scottish football, it’s been a long time and a rare event to see a player move there with the aim of then successfully securing an England place. It can and has happened but it’s less likely to happen than Henderson would want.

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Elsewhere, Hampshire Live have a scoop of their own on the goalkeeping situation at Parkhead. The report there has been reflecting on players at Southampton who are likely to look to loans or permanent departures to get to play more often. Fraser Forster gets a mention in their reports.

With Forster yet to feature this season for the Saints, he has been linked with a move back to Celtic again. The story also reports that the Hoops are keen to get their goalkeeping wall back in January. It is unlikely though after the Englishman gave up the chance to return just a few months earlier. This could be proved wrong but the Forster story has ended surely.

Finally the facts. Celtic know they have Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain as their top two keepers and both are keen to improve and to feature in the side. It’s early days yet for the summer signing from Greece, he needs time to develop and settle into the side.

Barkas is working hard at Celtic to learn and improve his skills while there. It’s much more likely that both he and Bain will see the season out in the Hoops than them dip for another goalkeeper in the January transfer window.