The mood is not great amongst Celtic fans despite this weekend's win against St Mirren as Matt O'Riley is set to join Brighton & Hove Albion in a Scottish record transfer. Of course, the supporters are used to the club's best players depart but even then, it is never a nice feeling. There is some positive news on the other hand, as it looks like the Hoops are on the verge of completing another signing.
Celtic need to find a replacement for O'Riley as soon as possible. But it looks like they are close to signing a left-back before that, and he plays for Barcelona.
As tweeted by Fabrizio Romano, Alex Valle has penned a new deal with Barcelona until June 2026 and he is set to join Celtic on loan. Verbal agreement reached. The Scottish champions are looking to get the player signed early next week.
Of course, Celtic needed to bring in some competition for Greg Taylor at left-back. They had been linked with players like Owen Beck of Liverpool, Hugo Bueno of Wolves and Owen Wijndal of Ajax. But ultimately, Valle is set to arrive from Barcelona, albeit on a short-term basis.
Celtic verbal agreement to sign Barcelona player confirmed
Valle is 20 years of age. He has not played a single senior game for Barcelona so far but he has represented Spain at the youth international level and he also spent the previous season out on loan at Levante.
Considering the talents that have come out of the La Masia system over the last few years, one is going to have high hopes from Valle for sure. Let's see how he adjusts to life at Celtic Park.
Thus, the left-back situation seems sorted, at least for this season. There are several other positions that Celtic still need to strengthen before the transfer window closes.