Celtic have reportedly stepped up their interest in Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Niels Nkounkou as the Hoops continue to wait on Landon Emenalo’s fitness.
Foot Mercato report Celtic are now looking to sign the Frenchman, who previously looked set to join OGC Nice.
Nice had reportedly lined up Nkounkou as an option if Melvin Bard left the club, but that departure now looks unlikely. That has potentially opened the door for Celtic to move.
Emenalo’s proposed move to the Hoops has remained delayed by a thigh injury suffered in Chelsea training.
Emenalo had already travelled to Scotland earlier in the window, visiting Celtic Park and Lennoxtown as talks progressed.
There was also Championship interest, including from clubs in London, but Celtic remained well placed to complete the move once he recovered.
The thigh problem has been the main issue holding things up.
The expectation had been that Emenalo would still join once fully fit, rather than the move collapsing altogether.
Eintracht Frankfurt paid around €7.5 million to sign him from Saint-Étienne in 2023, although his current valuation is believed to be closer to €3 million.
He spent last season on loan at Torino, where his playing time was limited to 443 minutes across 13 appearances in all competitions.
Martin O’Neill has already made clear that left-back is one of the positions he wants strengthened before the transfer deadline, with Kieran Tierney needing cover across a demanding fixture schedule.
The main question now is whether Celtic’s move for Nkounkou is directly linked to Emenalo’s thigh injury and the continued delay around that deal, or whether both deals can be agreed.
As things stand, CeltsAreHere has had no indication that the Emenalo move is dead.
But with Celtic reportedly stepping up their pursuit of Nkounkou, the club appear determined not to leave the left-back position unresolved before the window closes.
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