Midfielder Vinicius Souza appears to be in demand this summer with many clubs around Europe chasing his signature.
It is believed that Celtic have been monitoring the Brazilian for a few weeks now and are interested in the defensive midfielder with Real Betis and Schalke also in the race for Souza [Daily Record].
Having spent last season on-loan at KV Mechelen from Lommel SK it looks as though the 23-year old is looking for a new challenge.
One of the big hitters he was linked with early on in the window was Ajax but due to his ties with City Football Group, the Hoops could find some sort of loophole.
Lommel were purchased by the City Group in May 2020 becoming their ninth club. It isn’t really in their player trading and development model to act instantly to receiving a fee.
Souza will be a player that Mark Lawwell knows all about, and with his connections still very much strong to his former employer there could still be a deal to be done.
Celtic have roughly shelled out something in the region of £18 million so far in this window. With the guarantee of Champions League money secured, it is hoped the club won’t sell any assets as their value is only going to increase due to the platform players will be performing on.
This reflects the type of deal which is reportedly on the table with an initial loan deal and option to buy with Celtic having already held talks with the player’s representatives [Sun Sport].
These types of arrangements have proved to be beneficial for the club recently having triggered the options in Maeda, Carter-Vickers and Jota’s contracts with all three arriving on permanent deals this summer.
