Celtic are going to face stiff competition if they want to secure the permanent signing of Mohamed Elyounoussi if the latest Parkhed transfer rumour is to be believed.
A report on Football Insider claims that La Liga outfit, Real Sociedad, are keeping tabs on the Norwegian international winger and are said to be keen on making an offer in the summer.
Southampton are rumoured to be willing to accept around half of the original £16m they paid for Elyounoussi from Basle with it now looking certain that his future lies away from St Mary’s.
The forward took time to settle in Scotland but once he was given a run of games he soon found his form and hit 7 goals and provided 6 assists in his first 13 appearances before suffering a foot injury that has seen him sidelined since November, he returned for the league cup final in December but this only set him further back.
Despite being fit again, Elyounoussi has seen his playing time restricted following Neil Lennon’s decision to abandon a system with wingers supporting Odsonne Edouard in the Celtic attack, instead favouring two strikers and a number 10 in behind with width being provided by two wing-backs.
Lennon would be reticent about getting involved with an expensive bidding war for a player that is far from a guaranteed starter, there is the small matter of persuading Peter Lawwell to sanction a potential club record transfer fee too.
Would you want Celtic to splash out on Elyounoussi in the summer?
Yes
No
Regardless of any other interested parties, the biggest indicator to Elyounoussi’s future at Parkhead will be how many minutes he sees between now and the end of the season, the player himself won’t be content with being an impact substitute if that’s all his role becomes and he will return to Southampton looking for his fourth club in four seasons.