Celtic handed huge transfer blow by Vinicius Souza

Celtic will need to strengthen in the middle of the park this summer, especially in defensive midfield. Nir Bitton, who was their most reliable option to play in that role last season, has left the club after almost a decade at Parkhead, in search of a new challenge. On the other hand, Ismaila Soro, James McCarthy and Yosuke Ideguchi have all struggled to make their mark in the first-team.

Now, under the management of Ange Postecoglou, we have not seen the use of a traditional defensive midfielder often. But that is a role that will be very important next season, especially when the club come up against tougher opposition in the Champions League.

One of the most interesting names that the Hoops have been linked with in recent times is Vinicius Souza. He is currently with Belgian second division side, Lommel SK, but impressed immensely last season in the top flight while on loan at KV Mechelen.

Those performances have caught the attention of several clubs around Europe with Celtic being one of them. But, there appears to be some bad news for the Hoops as it looks like the Brazilian midfielder has reservations about moving to the Scottish Premiership. Anthony Joseph tweeted out:

Celtic handed major transfer blow by Souza

Souza has been immensely impressive in his recent performances and some even believe that he is good enough to play in the Premier League.

While it is understandable why Souza might have some reservations about moving to the Scottish Premiership, at the same time, it must be pointed out that Celtic has proven to be a pathway for players to move to the big five European leagues throughout the years.

At 22 years of age, it might be the perfect point in his career for Souza to move to Celtic and develop his game further, before taking the next step, if it does present itself.