Celtic are now said to be at risk of losing out on one of their key transfer targets this summer. We are now less than a week away from the start of Celtic's league campaign, and Martin O'Neill still doesn't have a starting goalkeeper.
Viljami Sinisalo is in line to start, with the 24-year-old having been a starter in the absence of Kasper Schmeichel through injury last season, but with Schmeichel now retired, O'Neill is likely to want a new starter.
All indications are that Las Palmas stopper Dinko Horkas is at the top of the wishlist, but reports in Spain suggest no bid has been made to date. The Canaries side are said to want a fee somewhere in the region of £6million for their 27-year-old keeper, and some reports have claimed an asking price of up to £8million.
Horkas played a key role in Las Palmas reaching the playoffs last season, where they ultimately came unstuck against eventual promotion winners Malaga. Missing out on promotion will likely mean Las Palmas sell this summer, but they will not do so on the cheap.
That may have caused hesitancy from Celtic, who don't seem to have many options in mind for their goalkeeper recruitment, at least not at this point, but competition from others could force their hand.
Clubs begin to circle Horkas
According to Sport, Celtic have informed Las Palmas they are only willing to pay around £5million, but no official bid has been made. Meanwhile, Sevilla and Olympiacos are said to be showing interest,
Celtic have had other priorities of late, about to close a deal for Kasper Hogh, while they also want Haissem Hassan and possibly Mika Baur. The goalkeeper chase is on the back burner, likely because O'Neill feels he can trust Sinisalo for the early stages of the season.
But the Bhoys are likely to circle back and sign a starting keeper, and Horkas may well be the chosen one. But for a deal to be done, it's likely a middle ground will need to be found, and one would suspect Las Palmas will ultimately settle on a fee somewhere in the region of £6.5million, as long as Celtic are willing to go up to that amount.
The Canaries side were banking on securing promotion back to the top flight, and their failure to do so will mean turning down a bid of £6.5million would be pretty irresponsible.
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