We are just a month away from the January transfer window opening and, as we have seen in recent years, Celtic like to get their business done early.
In 2022, the club wrapped up deals for Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi before the window had even opened and, this year, they did the same thing again by signing Alistair Johnston, Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi all before the window had opened.
The rumours are flying around already concerning the team, with incomings and outgoings all fervently being discussed. Who will we get over the line, and who will be heading through the exit door?
Tiago Araujo
The Telegraph reported that Celtic are eager to organise a deal for Estoril Praia left-back Tiago Araujo. The 22-year-old is a Portuguese under-21 international and was a team-mate of former Celt Jota in the Benfica Academy.
A versatile player, Araujo has been deployed as a left-back as well as a left-winger for the Primeira Liga side and would set Celtic back around £4million for his signature.
With fans eager for a new, European calibre left-back to either replace or provide competition for Greg Taylor, Araujo could be a player that Brendan Rodgers opts to turn to in January.
David Turnbull
One of the major talking points over the last few weeks has been the contract situation of David Turnbull.
Given his goal-scoring form this season, which sees him tied as top-scorer, Celtic may be eager to tie him down to a new contract. Other clubs will naturally also be circling, particularly with his contract situation meaning he will be available for a cut-price fee in January.
Surprisingly, one of those clubs who are apparently sniffing around is Italian giants AC Milan. With the success of the likes of Aaron Hickey, Lewis Ferguson and Josh Doig in Serie A, Italian clubs are beginning to dip into the Scottish market consistently and it would provide a massive but unlikely transfer for the former Motherwell man.
Rocco Vata
Turnbull isn’t the only player that Italian clubs are interested in, with Rocco Vata’s contract also up at the end of the season and clubs across the continent are taking notice.
Ronny Deila’s Club Brugge were previously interested and the latest reports indicate potential interest from Inter Milan, Torino and Frosinone.
Torino made a bid to sign the Ireland under-21 international in the summer but it was knocked back by Celtic. The Italians could return with a heightened interest given the relatively low fee he would be available for.
Inter Milan reportedly scouted Vata in this week’s 2-0 win over Lazio in the UEFA Youth League and he could join up with fellow Ireland teammate Kevin Zevi at the San Siro.
Mathias Kvistgaarden
The Dane is a familiar name to Celtic supporters as he has been consistently linked to the club over the last few months, with Celtic declining to further pursue a deal in the summer due to Brondby’s asking price.
A move for Kvistgaarden could be on the cards, given Celtic’s striking situation in January with Oh Hyeon-gyu, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda all potentially joining up with their national teams for the Asian Cup, leaving Celtic strikerless.
The stumbling block could be the fee, with around £7.5million reportedly required to prize the forward away from the Danish Superliga side.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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