Celtic fans were delighted when the club were linked with a move for Dominik Livakovic early on in the summer transfer window. Many believe that the Hoops need to bring in a new goalkeeper and have not been impressed by Joe Hart’s recent performances, even though the Englishman has done a good job over the past couple of seasons since arriving from Tottenham Hotspur amidst a lot of doubts.
One thing is clear. Hart is not the long-term solution, whether he remains the number one next season or not. He is 36 years of age and there are clear weaknesses in his game.
Sooner or later, Celtic will need to sign a new goalkeeper. And someone like Livakovic would be an excellent signing for them.
But it had looked like their hopes of signing Livakovic were over. Several reliable sources suggested that Fenerbahce had agreed a deal with the player as well as Dinamo Zagreb and a move was on the verge of completion. Yet, nothing official has been announced yet and things might have taken a last-minute turn.
Celtic reportedly make new offer for Livakovic
As tweeted out by Duyum Vitrini, while Fenerbahce were close to concluding negotiations with Dinamo Zagreb, an Arabian club made an offer to Livakovic’s representative by paying the release fee directly. Celtic took advantage of the situation and made a new offer.
Thus, it looks like nothing is final yet and the transfer race for Livakovic is still alive. Now, it remains to be seen if Celtic are able to come out on top, after being handed a second chance.
Livakovic is one of the most underrated goalkeepers in European football right now and it is a surprise that he is not playing in a top five league already. He was arguably Croatia’s best player at the World Cup and at 28 years of age, is in the middle of his prime.