Celtic’s interest in £5.5 million star seems to be over
Celtic needed to strengthen in just a few positions this summer. One of those was defensive midfield, having seen Nir Bitton depart Parkhead at the end of last season. On top of that, Ismaila Soro left on loan as well. While the Hoops still have Yosuke Ideguchi and James McCarthy capable of playing there, neither has been particularly impressive for the Hoops till now.
The club appear to have gone an unconventional route in filling their need in defensive midfield though, by signing Aaron Mooy on a free transfer.
The Australian international is not a conventional defensive midfielder by any stretch of the imagination and that is the kind of player that many Celtic fans wanted to see the club bring in this summer. They were linked with a move for Vinicius Souza for a while before he headed to Espanyol on loan.
The Hoops were also linked with Fausto Vera of Argentinos Juniors, who is rated at a transfer fee around £5.5 million. But now, there does not seem to be much chance of that happening. When asked about the Argentine, Anthony Joseph tweeted out:
Celtic’s interest in Argentine midfielder seems to be over
Vera could have proven to be a very good signing for Celtic if he had managed to settle into the Scottish game. The Argentine is a bit of a Rolls Royce of a midfielder. He can sit back deep and play impressive passes, carry the ball up the pitch and has a solid defensive side to his game as well.
But the rumoured £5.5 million transfer fee might have proven to be a bit steep for the Hoops, and it looks like Mooy has been brought in to fill the void left behind by Bitton.
Mooy has plenty of experience, at both club and international level. He has played in Scotland in the past with St Mirren, and also has genuine Premier League experience with Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town.
Thus, while a lot of fans might have been left a bit underwhelmed by the signing of Mooy, it might end up proving to be a transfer masterstroke over the course of the season.