Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that the club are pursuing a deal for Ukrainian international winger Marian Shved during this month’s transfer window, as reported by The Daily Mail.
It was reported by foreign media that the Hoops were interested in the player and the Hoops boss was not coy about the club’s intent on bringing the player into the club this month, although stressed he was a signing for the future.
As quoted by the paper, Rodgers said:
I can’t say I know a great deal about him but what I have seen he is a talent and something that will probably benefit the club in the future. We’ve got about a million wingers and don’t need another one but he’s a talent and in the summer we’ll probably lose wingers and he’ll look to come in.
It’s an opportunity for the club to sign a young talented player but not one that will probably help us now. The club have been in contact with his representatives and he is a player for the future.
He is a talented young player. I haven’t seen a great deal of him to be honest, it is something that has come to the club through circumstance and he has been watched.
I think that they will look to get the deal done on him and he will probably be out on loan.
While not exactly the most inspiring of comments on a potential new signing, the fact that the manager is commenting on it at all must mean that the deal is pretty close.
Rated at £1.8m by Transfermarkt, Shved has emerged as one of the top young talents in the Ukrainian top-flight, scoring eight goals this season, part of a 16-goal tally in the early stages of his senior career.
His form has been impressive enough to help win him his first international cap for his country in November.
On the face of it, it’s an exciting deal but it seems supporters will have to wait a while to see him in action for the first-team, with the likelihood of him making his debut this season apparently slim.