Argentinos Juniors president hands Celtic Fausto Vera boost

It was just this summer that Celtic signed their first ever Argentine player in the form of Alexandro Bernabei. The left-back was signed from Lanus for a transfer fee believed to be around £3.75 million. The 21-year-old was very highly rated during his time in Argentina and there are high hopes that he will be a good fit in Ange Postecoglou’s side in Glasgow.

It is a bit surprising that Celtic have never had a Argentine player before Bernabei. The move might have ended up opening the floodgates though, as the club are now being linked with Fausto Vera of Argentinos Juniors.

Celtic are in urgent need of adding a defensive midfielder to their ranks. Nir Bitton left the club at the end of the previous campaign, and even though he was not a regular starter under the management of Postecoglou, he did have a key role in the squad nonetheless and was brought off the bench regularly to help see out games.

Celtic were heavily linked with a move for Vinicius Souza before this but the Brazilian has ended up moving on loan to Espanyol instead. The Hoops have been offered some hope in the race to sign Vera though.

Celtic offered hope in the race to sign defensive midfielder

As reported by the Daily Record, Argentinos Juniors president Cristian Malaspina told Radio Punto:

"“As a club, when there is a value that cannot be refused, we have to negotiate. Nobody is irreplaceable. But, equally, it is also a position that we are covered. We are calm if it happens. It is a possibility we sell and then he stays with us (until September) which would be the ideal scenario. But it could be that a club that comes to buy has other ideas. We are working. He has been with us for a long time and we have to be sensitive too. It is not easy.”"

Thus, it looks like Argentinos Juniors are ready to let their star player leave if the right offer comes in for him.

Celtic will face heavy competition for Vera’s signature though. Corinthians and Genk are already believed to have had transfer bids rejected for him, while Flamengo are also rumoured to be interested in the defensive midfielder.

Vera has all the attributes to be an excellent addition to Celtic. He can carry the ball up the pitch, play defence splitting passes from deep, has an occasional goal in him as well and the defensive side of his game is solid. The 22-year-old looks like a hidden gem in Argentine football. Let’s see if the Hoops are able to bring him to Parkhead.