Former Celtic target now wanted by Real Madrid in €20m move

One of the biggest reasons Celtic were so successful during Ange Postecoglou’s time at the club was their ability to identify top talents. Of course, they went on to bring in players like Kyogo, Jota, Josip Juranovic, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and several others over those two years.

But some of the players they missed out on speak volumes as well. One of them was Kaoru Mitoma, who has ended up becoming a Premier League superstar at Brighton & Hove Albion instead.

Another player they were rumoured to have engaged in talks with is Malick Thiaw, who was at Schalke at that point in time. A move did not end up materialising though.

Things have gone quite well for Thiaw. He has ended up joining AC Milan since then, and now seems to be on the radar of Real Madrid.

Former Celtic transfer target now wanted by Real Madrid in €20 million move

As reported by SPORT, various media outlets highlight Thiaw as one of Real Madrid’s targets. He is believed to have a transfer value north of €20 million.

Of course, Real Madrid have an ageing defence at this point in time. David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez are all past 30. On the other hand, Eder Militao suffered a torn ACL earlier in the campaign. So, it is not hard to understand why the Spanish giants might be interested in someone like Thiaw.

One can only wonder what it would have been like if Celtic had actually managed to sign him a little over a year ago. Credit must be given to the club’s talent spotting department. But at the same time, some of the Hoops’ recent signings have raised more than a few eyebrows although it is very important to give them time to settle down at Parkhead.