It looks like signing a winger is near the top of Celtic's wishlist for the upcoming January transfer window. The club do not have any nailed-on starters on the flanks right now. The likes of Yang Hyun-jun and Michel-Ange Balikwisha do not look good enough. Sebastian Tounekti had shown a lot of promise early on but has faded away over the weeks. James Forrest is well past his prime. And Jota is out injured for the time being.
So, it is not hard to understand why Celtic might be looking to sign another winger. A lot of fans might not agree with their target though.
A new name that has cropped up in the Celtic rumour mill over the past few days is Jocelin Ta Bi. Talks to sign him appear to be more advanced than we had thought, although Genk might actually be leading the race for the youngster's signature.
As reported by CeltsAreHere, agent Stav Hachmon has confirmed that talks are ongoing with Celtic. He said to Sport 5:
"Celtic are talking but willing to pay less and leave Netanya a percentage of a future sale.
“Talks are continuing even though the player is injured, and both Genk and Celtic want reassurance that this injury will not delay his return."
Agent confirms Celtic have started talks to sign winger
It remains to be seen how things will play out for Ta Bi from here. It does look like there is a decent bit of interest in his signature and he should not have too tough of a time finding his next side, as he looks to take the next step.
Is Ta Bi the kind of player who will come in and make a major difference at Celtic? It does not feel like so. He would be another project signing and the Hoops do not have a great record in that department.
At the moment, it looks like it could take a transfer fee in the region of €3 million to sign the Ivory Coast winger. Will he end up at Celtic, Genk or somewhere else? We shall find out soon.