If recent reports are indeed true, Celtic made a bid worth upto £3 million after add-ons for the highly-rated international star.
One of the biggest areas of weakness for Celtic this season has been their defence. They have continuously leaked goals which has resulted in one of their worst runs of form in recent memory.
In their last 9 games in all competitions, the club have conceded 21 goals. Just for contrast, they had let in just 19 goals in the entirety of their league campaign last season before it was called off. Safe to say some changes need to be made.
As it turns out, the situation might have been a lot different though if things had gone their way back in October. As reported by Sports Illustrated’s Kristian Dyer, the Hoops had put in a $3 million transfer bid for Philadelphia Union centre-back Mark McKenzie which could rise to around $4 million or roughly £3 million after add-ons.
Per source, hearing that Celtic most recently made a bid for the Union's Mark McKenzie in October at $3 million that could bump to $4 million with incentives. #DOOP turned the deal down. #USMNT
— Kristian Dyer (@KristianRDyer) November 27, 2020
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Philadelphia Union were not ready to let their star man leave though and as a result, the bid was rejected. McKenzie, who has already made his debut for the United States national team, is expected to move to Europe some time in the near future though.
The report does not state exactly when the bid was made though. Shane Duffy had signed for the club on a season-long loan back in early September but has been a major disappointment since then. As a result, it has become evident that the club need another option at centre-back.
Was McKenzie the man that they had set their sights on after it became clear that Duffy was not the answer to their problems? Who knows? One things is for sure though, we need a new centre-back to walk in through the Parkhead door in January. And after how good the American has looked recently, nobody would complain if he is that guy.