Last summer it was reported by Italian journalist Mario Giunta that Celtic had bid for Roma keeper Robin Olsen. This was after Celtic signed Vasilis Barkas to be the number 1 goalkeeper, however, this did not go according to plan.
Scott Bain replaced Barkas as Celtic’s number 1 after the Greek international failed to impress. The arrival of the Swedish international would have seen Bain sink to third in the pecking order or even depart the club.
After Celtic’s interest, Sweden’s starting goalkeeper undertook a loan spell at Mersey side team, Everton. During his time with the toffees, he made 11 appearances, 7 of which were in the Premier League where he kept 2 clean sheets. These came when winning away to Leicester and drawing away to Brighton.
Now that Jose Mourinho has taken charge of Roma, Olsen is no longer part of the club’s plans. Olsen will be shown the door if a suitable bid is made – this is thought to be in the region of £4 million but Olsen is keen to leave so the Italian giants may be forced to accept smaller bids.
Aged 31, Olsen is extremely experienced having played in the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, Serie A as well as the World Cup. Olsen is set to start at this summer’s EUROS for Sweden. The blue and yellows are without center forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic in group E, along with Spain, Slovakia, and Poland.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Celtic re-establish their interest in the keeper this summer as they begin to prepare for next season, whenever that may be.
