Celtic suffer setback in the transfer race for Championship star

The draw against Dundee United was enough to ensure Celtic’s 52nd Scottish league title on Wednesday evening. Surpassing all expectations, the Hoops have lifted the trophy, with the cherry on top being the Scottish League Cup that Ange Postecoglou managed to guide them to earlier this season. Free of any pressure, the players will take the field to play their last game of the campaign against Motherwell on Saturday.

Then, the management will embark on a journey to build a formidable side for the 2022/23 campaign, where the Hoops will be part of the Champions League group stage. It means that strengthening the team is no more an option but has become a necessity for Celtic.

Celtic have been linked in recent times with Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo. The 22-year-old is considered one of the top talents in the Championship right now.

On top of that, Celtic might need to go after a striker in the upcoming summer transfer window, with Albian Ajeti expected to leave after struggling since his move from West Ham United in 2020.

Celtic receive transfer setback in race for Bristol City’s Semenyo

As reported by Bristol World:

"The Robins will soon trigger the one-year contract option in Semenyo’s contract that can be activated this month, stipulated for the third Saturday of May. It extends Semenyo’s deal by another year, effectively giving the club two years more of the player, at the least."

If the club triggers the option, it will automatically extend Semenyo’s stay at Bristol City by an extra year, keeping him with them till the summer of 2024.

Semenyo has had a brilliant season in the Championship this time around despite Bristol City finishing in 17th.

It will be very interesting to see if Celtic do end up going for the striker, who is believed to have a very high transfer valuation on the part of Bristol City. Rumours have suggested that the Championship club will look for a figure between £15 million and £20 million to part ways with Semenyo.

Of course, anything close to that would shatter Celtic’s current transfer record and it is unlikely that they will go after Semenyo, if that is indeed what The Robins are looking for. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and West Ham United have also been linked with the striker.