Journalist Stephen McGowan has claimed Celtic have been in for Torino midfielder Gbvidas Gineitis in recent weeks. The holding midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to Parkhead to replace Arne Engels, who played in one of the all-important hybrid roles for the Bhoys.
Engels is a huge loss, not just for his obvious quality but also because of the role he played and Celtic's lack of a natural replacement. Mika Baur had to play the role on Wednesday night, and while he played well, it is not his natural role, and he does not have the physicality to succeed in that position at a high level, keeping in mind Celtic are hoping to be playing Champions League football this season.
Canadian international Niko Sigur appears to be a genuine target, with Hajduk Split happy to sell for just ÂŁ6million, and he is a defensive midfielder. But Celtic may well buy a more polished midfielder on top of Sigur.
McGowan's Gineitis to Celtic claim
Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, McGowan said: "For years you’ve heard Celtic fans saying they need a more physical number six-type player, kind of Victor Wanyama-type, to protect the defence because they do give up chances.
“Well, Arne Engels was the closest they had to that, although he wasn’t a natural, but he had legs, he had physicality. They don’t really have that in there now.
“And I mean, I know they’ve been trying to get Gineitis, the Lithuanian Torino midfielder, who is a big unit, and they’ve been looking for a player like that and are still trying to bring one in, but they haven’t done it in time.
“So the concern will be for Martin O’Neill, have they done enough going into these two games? And if the answer is no, and I think you’re absolutely right, what you said earlier, I think the verdict will be scathing.”
Torino have said they are reluctant to sell players between now and the end of the window, but they are not in a position where they can ignore good offers. None have been received yet, but Celtic could change that by accelerating their interest.
Gineitis has been valued at around ÂŁ12million by some, but it's though he can be signed for somewhere around ÂŁ7-8million including add-ons. Celtic may well wait to see if they can bag Champions League qualification money before taking concrete steps towards a deal, even with the Engels money in their pockets.
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