Celtic have been very active when it comes to signing players in recent times. The club have had a squad overhaul over the past couple of years and their recruitment has been excellent. A number of people have arrived in Glasgow and become household names in a very short span of time. It is one of the biggest reasons why they have been enjoying so much success on the pitch lately.
Even this January, Celtic brought in four new players in the form of Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata, Alistair Johnston and Oh Hyeon-gyu. The Canadian international has established himself as a starter straight off the bat, while the other three have gotten a taste of first-team football as well, and could have bigger roles to play in the future as they settle in.
Of course, the club have not been successful in signing all of their targets. And one of them looks set to remain at his current team for the foreseeable future.
As reported by Trifilara (via HITC), Greek international Fotis Ioannidis is ‘ready’ to sign a new contract with Panathinaikos.
Celtic suffer blow as target is ready to sign new contract at Panathinaikos
Celtic are believed to have had an eye on Ioannidis for a few years now. He is a 23-year-old forward, currently playing for Panathinaikos and is a regular for the Super League Greece leaders.
That is interesting because he is not a prolific goalscorer by any stretch of the imagination. But his incredible work-rate and dedication have made him an integral part of the team. Thus, someone like him could have brought a different option to Celtic in the future.
But it looks like Ioannidis is set to remain at Panathinaikos for the time being. On the other hand, Celtic already have a world-class striker in Kyogo Furuhashi while Oh has shown promise since arriving in Glasgow in January as well.