It is no secret that Celtic are looking to strengthen their squad further. The Hoops have already brought in Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi, weeks before the January transfer window has even opened and are expected to be make more additions if things go according to plan, especially with Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis being linked with exits.
The rumours linking Celtic will Cho Gue-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Afsha of Al Ahly have grabbed most of the headlines. But another player that they are rumoured to be interested in is Aissa Laidouni of Ferencvaros.
Tunisia might have gotten knocked out from the group stages of the World Cup but it is safe to say that Laidouni’s stock skyrocketed after his performances at the tournament. And it looks like Ferencvaros want a massive transfer fee to part ways with their star midfielder.
As reported by the Daily Record, Ferencvaros chief, Pal Orosz, said about Laidouni:
"“There is interest, but no specific concrete offers yet. The price of a player of this quality is high. We are talking about 10 million Euros. The important thing for him is he moves to a club that takes him up a level. He deserves to go to a prestigious club. It’s also good for us if he moves to a big club because future players here can see that we are a stepping stone for a big move.”"
Celtic will have to pay blockbuster transfer fee if they want to sign Laidouni
While a €10 million transfer fee would not break Celtic’s transfer record, it would come pretty close to it.
At this point of time, it does not feel like the club need to shell out that kind of a transfer fee for a central midfielder though. They already have captain fantastic in the form of Callum McGregor and Aaron Mooy is a great option to have around as well, as the Australian showed what he was capable of at the World Cup as well.
In fact, the Socceroos managed to qualify to the knockout rounds of the competition out of the same group that Tunisia were in, alongside France and Denmark.
It remains to be seen what the future holds but it feels next to impossible for Celtic to entertain the idea of making that kind of a transfer bid for Laidouni despite his unquestionable quality.