According to a report in Football Insider, Celtic are still keen on landing a permanent deal for Mohamed Elyounoussi but will wait until the summer to make their move.
The Norway international wouldn’t come cheap although Southampton are expected to be willing to accept around half of the £16m they paid Basel to secure his services in the summer of 2018.
This would still represent a sizeable outlay for a club with a £9m transfer fee record but given the winger’s statistics of 7 goals and 6 assists in 15 appearances, it may be enough to tempt Neil Lennon into splashing out.
Elyounoussi had been on fire prior to the league cup final but suffered a foot injury which has seen him miss a large chunk of the season, he has recently returned to action, however, in his absence Lennon has change shape and system which no longer requires wingers, instead he has two central strikers and a number 10 behind them.
The issue that the Celtic gaffer will have is whether or not he can persuade the board to release such a large fee when there are no guarantees that the player will be playing every week, unless, he reverts back to his previous 4-2-3-1 system.
With speculation on an almost daily basis linking Odsonne Edouard away from Parkhead, the wise money would be on the Hoops biggest summer outlay being on the Frenchman’s replacement, however, spending big might not necessarily work so they make look at the safe option of Elyounoussi and return Leigh Griffiths to the role of first choice striker.
Would you want Celtic to splash out on Elyounoussi in the summer?
Yes
No
With Southampton’s form improving and now more likely to stay in the Premier League, there may be even greater room for negotiating for a player who has been deemed surplus to requirements, Lennon could yet get his man without having to break the bank – which would be music to Peter Lawwell’s ears.