Celtic have stepped up their move for Jordan Lotomba, with the Hoops now putting an offer on the table for the Feyenoord right-back.
CeltsAreHere exclusively revealed on Monday evening that Celtic had approached the Dutch club about Lotomba as they looked at ways of adding another right-back before the window closes.
Things have moved on since then.
We understand Celtic have now made an offer for the 27-year-old and Feyenoord are prepared to let him go without demanding an upfront transfer fee.
There is a catch, of course. Feyenoord aren’t simply going to wave goodbye to a player with another year on his contract and get nothing back.
The discussions have centred around add-ons and a sell-on percentage which would allow the Dutch side to benefit from the deal further down the line.
It’s a slightly unusual arrangement, but you can see why Celtic are interested in doing it this way.
Lotomba’s contract runs until next summer and Feyenoord have been open to moving him on. Celtic, meanwhile, don’t want to spend a sizeable fee on somebody who could potentially be picked up for nothing in less than 12 months.
The clubs have been talking this week to try to bridge that gap.
Celtic’s need for another right-back has become pretty obvious over the opening weeks of the season.
Alistair Johnston isn’t expected back until around October. Colby Donovan has been thrown in and has handled himself well, while Anthony Ralston is still there, but Celtic clearly don’t want to head into the next couple of months relying solely on those options.
Lotomba, at 27, would bring experience and could come in ready to play.
There is still negotiating to be done, so this isn’t one we are calling as completed. But it has moved on considerably from the initial approach we reported on Monday.
Celtic want the player and they are now trying to get the structure of the deal agreed with Feyenoord before Thursday’s 5pm deadline.
And right-back isn’t the only defensive position they are trying to sort.
Landon Emenalo is closing in on his loan move from Chelsea after that particular trail had gone quiet for a while.
It means Celtic could yet come out of the final days of the window with new cover on both sides of the defence.
Given how quickly targets have appeared and disappeared over the last few days, nobody will be taking anything for granted until the paperwork is done.
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